ZIP 56657 vs ZIP 56628

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