ZIP 55785 vs ZIP 55748

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55785 (Swatara, MN) and ZIP 55748 (Hill City, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55785 has a population of 263 at 1 people per square mile, while ZIP 55748 has 1,476 at 5 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 55785 reports a median household income of $56,477 against $53,810 in ZIP 55748, with per-capita income of $24,258 vs $30,070. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 6.0% in 55785 and 16.8% in 55748. Poverty rate reads 8.1% vs 18.3%, and unemployment 3.1% vs 12.4% — 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 $181,500 in 55785 versus $201,300 in 55748, with median rent of — and $765 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 92.3% vs 82.5%. 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.