ZIP 55322 vs ZIP 55387

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55322 (Cologne, MN) and ZIP 55387 (Waconia, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55322 has a population of 3,163 at 22 people per square mile, while ZIP 55387 has 12,249 at 151 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 55322 reports a median household income of $124,861 against $114,511 in ZIP 55387, with per-capita income of $54,563 vs $54,619. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 37.7% in 55322 and 48.4% in 55387. Poverty rate reads 4.7% vs 3.9%, and unemployment 3.3% vs 4.2% — 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 $426,200 in 55322 versus $440,300 in 55387, with median rent of $868 and $1,330 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.1% vs 82.2%. 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.