ZIP 55056 vs ZIP 55032

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