ZIP 56042 vs ZIP 56032

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56042 (Hartland, MN) and ZIP 56032 (Freeborn, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56042 has a population of 720 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 56032 has 313 at 188 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 56042 reports a median household income of $89,750 against $50,000 in ZIP 56032, with per-capita income of $44,399 vs $26,039. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.8% in 56042 and 12.5% in 56032. Poverty rate reads 4.5% vs 25.7%, and unemployment 11.2% vs 10.5% — 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 $205,200 in 56042 versus $103,100 in 56032, with median rent of $546 and $820 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.9% vs 83.3%. 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.