ZIP 55726 vs ZIP 55780

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55726 (Cromwell, MN) and ZIP 55780 (Sawyer, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55726 has a population of 1,045 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 55780 has 212 at 3 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 55726 reports a median household income of $80,313 against $76,042 in ZIP 55780, with per-capita income of $33,141 vs $25,280. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.2% in 55726 and 4.6% in 55780. Poverty rate reads 6.4% vs 7.3%, and unemployment 1.3% vs 2.6% — 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 $227,300 in 55726 versus $193,800 in 55780, with median rent of $625 and $800 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.0% vs 84.3%. 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.