ZIP 55032 vs ZIP 55056

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55032 (Harris, MN) and ZIP 55056 (North Branch, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55032 has a population of 3,616 at 20 people per square mile, while ZIP 55056 has 13,546 at 52 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 55032 reports a median household income of $104,554 against $95,679 in ZIP 55056, with per-capita income of $42,778 vs $46,415. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.3% in 55032 and 20.1% in 55056. Poverty rate reads 7.0% vs 6.8%, and unemployment 4.1% vs 4.4% — 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 $380,900 in 55032 versus $331,300 in 55056, with median rent of $950 and $1,314 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.3% vs 85.1%. 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.