ZIP 55318 vs ZIP 55317

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55318 (Chaska, MN) and ZIP 55317 (Chanhassen, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55318 has a population of 25,493 at 239 people per square mile, while ZIP 55317 has 19,218 at 591 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 55318 reports a median household income of $112,243 against $140,385 in ZIP 55317, with per-capita income of $57,112 vs $75,407. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 47.0% in 55318 and 63.7% in 55317. Poverty rate reads 5.6% vs 3.2%, and unemployment 3.3% vs 3.2% — 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 $420,400 in 55318 versus $539,000 in 55317, with median rent of $1,555 and $1,840 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.1% vs 81.9%. 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.