ZIP 56537 vs ZIP 56573

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56537 (Fergus Falls, MN) and ZIP 56573 (Perham, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56537 has a population of 18,548 at 25 people per square mile, while ZIP 56573 has 5,993 at 17 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 56537 reports a median household income of $65,473 against $68,770 in ZIP 56573, with per-capita income of $37,805 vs $37,592. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.3% in 56537 and 31.3% in 56573. Poverty rate reads 7.7% vs 12.5%, and unemployment 5.7% vs 6.8% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $246,500 in 56537 versus $286,500 in 56573, with median rent of $910 and $862 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.3% vs 72.5%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.