ZIP 56737 vs ZIP 56759

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56737 (Middle River, MN) and ZIP 56759 (Strathcona, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56737 has a population of 871 at 2 people per square mile, while ZIP 56759 has 364 at 1 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 56737 reports a median household income of $72,679 against $75,625 in ZIP 56759, with per-capita income of $38,470 vs $36,178. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.6% in 56737 and 13.3% in 56759. Poverty rate reads 8.3% vs 3.4%, and unemployment 2.5% vs 13.3% — 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 $139,700 in 56737 versus $191,700 in 56759, with median rent of $485 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.9% vs 95.5%. 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.