ZIP 56173 vs ZIP 56138

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56173 (Steen, MN) and ZIP 56138 (Hills, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56173 has a population of 424 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 56138 has 899 at 12 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 56173 reports a median household income of $59,286 against $78,631 in ZIP 56138, with per-capita income of $31,572 vs $39,447. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.1% in 56173 and 25.3% in 56138. Poverty rate reads 18.6% vs 8.3%, and unemployment 1.9% vs 5.9% — 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 $215,900 in 56173 versus $207,300 in 56138, with median rent of $1,042 and $962 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.2% vs 78.8%. 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.