ZIP 56628 vs ZIP 56657

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56628 (Bigfork, MN) and ZIP 56657 (Marcell, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56628 has a population of 1,681 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 56657 has 304 at 2 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 56628 reports a median household income of $61,250 against $72,629 in ZIP 56657, with per-capita income of $34,723 vs $38,395. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.8% in 56628 and 29.0% in 56657. Poverty rate reads 15.9% vs 9.2%, and unemployment 4.0% vs 2.9% — 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 $244,700 in 56628 versus $420,800 in 56657, with median rent of $996 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.0% vs 100.0%. 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.