ZIP 55340 vs ZIP 55356

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55340 (Hamel, MN) and ZIP 55356 (Long Lake, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55340 has a population of 6,327 at 68 people per square mile, while ZIP 55356 has 5,311 at 164 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 55340 reports a median household income of $178,553 against $156,622 in ZIP 55356, with per-capita income of $81,439 vs $136,506. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 63.0% in 55340 and 67.5% in 55356. Poverty rate reads 6.7% vs 5.5%, and unemployment 1.6% vs 1.4% — 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 $639,100 in 55340 versus $707,800 in 55356, with median rent of $1,452 and $1,860 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 92.3% vs 87.2%. 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.