Postal Codes

56501 ZIP Code

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ZIP code 56501 covers Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, with a population of about 18,239 and a median household income of $68,980.

Population
18,23998 per square mile
Median age
44.25.5 points above the US average
Median household income
$68,98021% below the Minnesota median
Poverty rate
9.4%3 points below the US average
Typical home value
$378,706up 25.5% in five years
Median rent
$94224% below the Minnesota median
Degree or higher
31.7%3.3 points below the US average
Homeownership
71.9%6.9 points above the US average
Time zone
Central UTC-06:00observes daylight saving time
Businesses
605

Where 56501 is

Detroit Lakes, Minnesota — the area the Census Bureau draws for this ZIP code. ZIP codes are sets of delivery routes rather than areas, so this is the Census approximation of one, not a Postal Service boundary.

People and households

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Population18,239
Median age44.2
Family households59.3%
Born outside the US1.3%
Speaks a language other than English at home2.3%
White (non-Hispanic)90.7%
Black (non-Hispanic)0.4%
Asian (non-Hispanic)0.6%
Hispanic or Latino0.9%
Veterans8.8%
Population by age
MaleFemale0-45-910-1415-1920-2425-3435-4445-5455-6465-7475-8485+
Income and poverty

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Median household income$68,980
Income per person$44,608
Poverty rate9.4%
Households on SNAP or cash assistance10.8%

Household income distribution

Under $10k5.5%
$10–15k2.9%
$15–20k3.0%
$20–25k3.0%
$25–30k2.7%
$30–35k4.6%
$35–40k4.5%
$40–45k4.8%
$45–50k4.2%
$50–60k7.1%
$60–75k11.8%
$75–100k15.5%
$100–125k9.5%
$125–150k6.2%
$150–200k6.4%
$200k or more8.4%

Income as declared to the IRS

Filed returns rather than survey responses, so this counts tax units and not households.

Tax returns filed8,450
Mean adjusted gross income$78,543
Returns declaring $200,000 or more5.8%
Returns, under $25k27.3%
Returns, $25k–$50k23.1%
Returns, $50k–$75k16.0%
Returns, $75k–$100k10.2%
Returns, $100k–$200k17.6%
Returns, $200k or more5.8%
Housing

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Median home value$286,900
Median gross rent$942
Rent as a share of household income29.6%
Owner-occupied71.9%
Vacant homes23.8%
Median year built1980

What the homes are

Detached house75.6%
Attached house3%
2 to 4 units1.7%
5 to 19 units7.5%
20 or more units6.6%
Mobile home5.5%
Home values and rents today

Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index, courtesy of Zillow. Monthly and current, where the Census figures above are a five-year average and are capped at $2,000,000.

Typical home value$378,706as of 2026-07
Typical home value, 1 yearup 3.1%
Typical home value, 5 yearsup 25.5%
Typical home value, 10 yearsup 69.6%
Typical home value since 2000
200920172026$378,706$173,078

$178,077 in 2009 to $378,706 in 2026.

Work, commuting and education

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Unemployment rate3.8%
Bachelor's degree or higher31.7%
High school diploma or higher94.3%
Works from home9.4%
Drives to work alone76.3%
Takes public transport0.9%
Commutes 45 minutes or more10.1%
Health

CDC PLACES 2025 release, model-based estimates. These are modelled small-area estimates for adults, not counts of diagnosed cases.

Obesity36.6% 3.2 pts above the national average of 33.4%
Diagnosed diabetes11.4% 0.6 pts below the national average of 12%
Currently smokes14.8% 1.6 pts above the national average of 13.2%
High blood pressure37.3% 3.2 pts above the national average of 34.1%
Fair or poor general health17.9% 2.4 pts below the national average of 20.3%
No health insurance (18–64)7.4% 3.9 pts below the national average of 11.3%
Depression23.9% 2 pts above the national average of 21.9%
No leisure-time physical activity24.2% 1.2 pts below the national average of 25.4%
Arthritis27.8% 2.7 pts above the national average of 25.1%
Binge drinking19.1% 3.1 pts above the national average of 16%
Taking blood pressure medication80.1% 5.4 pts above the national average of 74.7%
Cancer (non-skin)10.6% 2.9 pts above the national average of 7.7%
Current asthma10.1% same as the national average of 10.4%
Coronary heart disease7.6% 1.4 pts above the national average of 6.2%
Routine check-up in past year77.7% 1 pts above the national average of 76.7%
Cholesterol screening86.3% same as the national average of 85.9%
Cognitive disability13.3% 1.5 pts below the national average of 14.8%
Colorectal screening72.7% 8.4 pts above the national average of 64.3%
COPD7% same as the national average of 6.6%
Visited a dentist66.9% 5.6 pts above the national average of 61.3%
Any disability30% 0.7 pts below the national average of 30.7%
Lacks emotional support19.5% 5.3 pts below the national average of 24.8%
Food insecurity11.8% 5.3 pts below the national average of 17.1%
Received food stamps8.8% 5.5 pts below the national average of 14.3%
Hearing disability8.7% 2 pts above the national average of 6.7%
High cholesterol35.3% 0.9 pts below the national average of 36.2%
Housing insecurity8.8% 5 pts below the national average of 13.8%
Independent living disability8.1% same as the national average of 8.4%
Lacks transport7.2% 2 pts below the national average of 9.2%
Loneliness26.9% 7.5 pts below the national average of 34.4%
Mammography use78.8% 2.9 pts above the national average of 75.9%
Poor mental health (14+ days)15.4% 1.4 pts below the national average of 16.8%
Mobility disability14% same as the national average of 14%
Poor physical health (14+ days)13% 0.5 pts below the national average of 13.5%
Self-care disability3.7% same as the national average of 4%
Utility shut-off threat5.8% 3 pts below the national average of 8.8%
Sleeps under 7 hours28.8% 7.6 pts below the national average of 36.4%
Stroke3.9% 0.5 pts above the national average of 3.4%
All natural teeth lost11.1% 1.9 pts below the national average of 13%
Vision disability4.7% 0.9 pts below the national average of 5.6%
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Business and employment

Census ZIP Code Business Patterns 2022

Business establishments605
People employed8,548
Annual payroll$434,896,000
Natural hazard risk

FEMA National Risk Index, estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data — the NRI is not published per ZIP.

Overall riskHigher than 36.9% of US census tracts
FEMA ratingVery Low to Relatively Moderate across the 9 census tracts this ZIP code covers
Expected annual loss36.8 out of 100
Community resilience77.9 out of 100

By hazard

Score is out of 100 and is the area-weighted average across the census tracts this ZIP code covers. The rating beside it is the highest any one of those tracts carries.

Winter weather96.7Very High at its worst in this ZIP code
Wildfire90.2Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Landslide89.7Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Strong wind78.3Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code
Hail76.8Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code
Cold wave69.1Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code
Tornado67.8Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code
River flooding50.5Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code
Drought46.6Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Lightning35.7Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Heat wave14.5Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Ice storm6.8Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Earthquake3.7Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Compared with Minnesota and the United States

State and national columns are figures for those areas, not for this ZIP code. American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

This ZIPMinnesotaUnited States
Median household income$68,980$87,556$78,538
Income per person$44,608$46,957$43,289
Poverty rate9.4%9.2%12.4%
Median home value$286,900$305,500$303,400
Median gross rent$942$1,235$1,348
Homeownership71.9%72.4%65%
Bachelor's degree or higher31.7%38.8%35%
Unemployment rate3.8%3.9%5.2%
Works from home9.4%15.8%13.5%
Born outside the US1.3%8.6%13.9%
Median age44.238.638.7
Climate

NOAA US Climate Normals 1991-2020, from the nearest weather station with a full year of records. The station and its distance are named above, because a station forty kilometres away describes somewhere else.

Weather stationDETROIT LAKES 1 NNE, MN US2.3 km away
Rain in a year29 in
Snow in a year48 in

Average high and low by month

January17.2°F / -3.6°F0.82 in rain, 8.3 in snow
February22.7°F / 0.2°F0.66 in rain, 9.4 in snow
March35.5°F / 15.4°F0.96 in rain, 7.7 in snow
April52°F / 29.1°F2.03 in rain, 5.3 in snow
May66.4°F / 42.4°F3.73 in rain
June75.5°F / 53.1°F4.9 in rain
July79.2°F / 57.5°F4.35 in rain
August77.7°F / 55.3°F3.26 in rain
September69.5°F / 46.3°F3.55 in rain
October53.1°F / 33.5°F2.84 in rain, 1.1 in snow
November36.7°F / 19.2°F1.37 in rain, 4.8 in snow
December22.4°F / 5.6°F0.98 in rain, 11 in snow
Access to food

USDA Food Access Research Atlas, estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data. Each figure is the share of the ZIP code's land area that falls in a tract carrying that flag.

Low income and far from a supermarket17% of this ZIP code's area
Far from a supermarket3% of this ZIP code's area
No vehicle and far from a supermarket3% of this ZIP code's area
School districts

NCES Geographic Relationship File 2025, which states the association between each district and each ZIP code tabulation area directly. Elementary and secondary districts can cover the same ground, so shares need not total 100%.

This ZIP code is served by 4 school districts, so the address decides which one, not the ZIP code.

Detroit Lakes Public School District70.8% of this ZIP code's land area
Frazee-Vergas Public School District16.7% of this ZIP code's land area
Lake Park Audubon School District8.7% of this ZIP code's land area
Pelican Rapids Public School District3.8% of this ZIP code's land area
Community and walkability

CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index 2022 and the EPA National Walkability Index, both estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data. Vulnerability figures are national percentile ranks, not measurements.

Overall social vulnerability28more vulnerable than 28% of US census tracts
Socioeconomic status26more vulnerable than 26% of US census tracts
Household characteristics30more vulnerable than 30% of US census tracts
Racial and ethnic minority status17more vulnerable than 17% of US census tracts
Housing type and transport47more vulnerable than 47% of US census tracts
Walkability5.4 out of 20Least walkable
Nearby ZIP codes

The closest ZIP codes by centre point, which is not the same as sharing a border.

56502 Detroit Lakes, MN0 km away
56578 Rochert, MN12 km away
56511 Audubon, MN12.4 km away
56587 Vergas, MN16.7 km away
56554 Lake Park, MN16.9 km away
56577 Richwood, MN17.6 km away
56521 Callaway, MN22.5 km away
56544 Frazee, MN25.6 km away
Location, counties and time zone

County shares from Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files. Time zone from the USDOT National Transportation Atlas, which renders the boundaries written into 49 CFR Part 71.

Becker County93.8% of this ZIP code's land area
Otter Tail County6.2% of this ZIP code's land area
Time zoneCentral (UTC-06:00 standard)
Daylight saving timeObserved
Land area186.88 sq mi
Water area32.08 sq mi
Population density98 people per sq mi
Latitude, longitude46.8172, -95.8453

Figures are published for this ZIP code or its Census tabulation area unless a section says otherwise. Estimates whose margin of error made them unreliable are omitted rather than shown. Sources: US Census Bureau, CDC, IRS.

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