ZIP 55749 vs ZIP 55797

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55749 (Holyoke, MN) and ZIP 55797 (Wrenshall, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55749 has a population of 449 at 2 people per square mile, while ZIP 55797 has 1,441 at 8 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 55749 reports a median household income of $77,500 against $87,039 in ZIP 55797, with per-capita income of $38,127 vs $39,269. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.7% in 55749 and 23.6% in 55797. Poverty rate reads 8.9% vs 5.3%, and unemployment 23.4% 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 $223,700 in 55749 versus $257,400 in 55797, with median rent of — and $1,284 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.4% vs 94.1%. 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.