ZIP 56585 vs ZIP 56552

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56585 (Ulen, MN) and ZIP 56552 (Hitterdal, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56585 has a population of 1,049 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 56552 has 429 at 3 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 56585 reports a median household income of $71,250 against $51,786 in ZIP 56552, with per-capita income of $38,863 vs $30,617. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.4% in 56585 and 16.8% in 56552. Poverty rate reads 12.5% vs 13.9%, and unemployment 2.4% vs 5.1% — 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 $301,400 in 56585 versus $193,300 in 56552, with median rent of $850 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.6% vs 89.4%. 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.