ZIP 59201 vs ZIP 59255

This side-by-side compares ZIP 59201 (Wolf Point, MT) and ZIP 59255 (Poplar, MT) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 59201 has a population of 5,100 at 1 people per square mile, while ZIP 59255 has 3,429 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 59201 reports a median household income of $53,311 against $45,379 in ZIP 59255, with per-capita income of $23,368 vs $17,811. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.7% in 59201 and 18.5% in 59255. Poverty rate reads 27.8% vs 43.2%, and unemployment 11.4% vs 18.0% — 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 $127,100 in 59201 versus $91,800 in 59255, with median rent of $732 and $394 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.4% vs 64.7%. 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.