ZIP 55939 vs ZIP 55965

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55939 (Harmony, MN) and ZIP 55965 (Preston, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55939 has a population of 1,963 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 55965 has 2,376 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 55939 reports a median household income of $70,855 against $65,577 in ZIP 55965, with per-capita income of $34,015 vs $38,286. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.5% in 55939 and 26.8% in 55965. Poverty rate reads 12.0% vs 12.5%, and unemployment 2.6% vs 2.4% — 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 $198,800 in 55939 versus $206,700 in 55965, with median rent of $688 and $756 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.3% vs 78.2%. 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.