ZIP 56601 vs ZIP 56687

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56601 (Bemidji, MN) and ZIP 56687 (Wilton, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56601 has a population of 32,225 at 34 people per square mile, while ZIP 56687 has 73 at 15 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 56601 reports a median household income of $72,262 against — in ZIP 56687, with per-capita income of $38,496 vs —. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 37.1% in 56601 and — in 56687. Poverty rate reads 13.4% vs —, and unemployment 4.2% vs — — 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 $260,900 in 56601 versus — in 56687, with median rent of $1,088 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.2% vs —. 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.