ZIP 56132 vs ZIP 56115

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56132 (Garvin, MN) and ZIP 56115 (Balaton, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56132 has a population of 540 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 56115 has 1,366 at 4 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 56132 reports a median household income of $73,750 against $64,000 in ZIP 56115, with per-capita income of $52,115 vs $37,777. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.5% in 56132 and 20.8% in 56115. Poverty rate reads 11.5% vs 11.7%, and unemployment 1.9% vs 2.5% — 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 $289,600 in 56132 versus $193,300 in 56115, with median rent of $983 and $1,079 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 92.5% vs 79.6%. 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.