ZIP 56744 vs ZIP 56710

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56744 (Oslo, MN) and ZIP 56710 (Alvarado, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56744 has a population of 621 at 2 people per square mile, while ZIP 56710 has 490 at 5 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 56744 reports a median household income of $81,750 against $68,000 in ZIP 56710, with per-capita income of $40,315 vs $35,493. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.9% in 56744 and 23.2% in 56710. Poverty rate reads 2.6% vs 8.1%, and unemployment 3.1% vs 4.9% — 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 $133,800 in 56744 versus $139,400 in 56710, with median rent of $446 and $1,075 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.7% vs 81.4%. 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.