ZIP 55972 vs ZIP 55929

This side-by-side compares ZIP 55972 (Saint Charles, MN) and ZIP 55929 (Dover, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 55972 has a population of 4,995 at 22 people per square mile, while ZIP 55929 has 1,209 at 10 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 55972 reports a median household income of $98,878 against $118,977 in ZIP 55929, with per-capita income of $46,697 vs $40,192. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.1% in 55972 and 31.3% in 55929. Poverty rate reads 4.8% vs 3.5%, and unemployment 0.5% vs 1.7% — 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 $287,800 in 55972 versus $332,300 in 55929, with median rent of $1,011 and $855 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.5% vs 89.7%. 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.