ZIP 56208 vs ZIP 56249

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56208 (Appleton, MN) and ZIP 56249 (Holloway, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56208 has a population of 2,066 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 56249 has 296 at 2 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 56208 reports a median household income of $59,766 against $72,250 in ZIP 56249, with per-capita income of $32,563 vs $50,089. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.9% in 56208 and 20.8% in 56249. Poverty rate reads 20.3% vs 3.0%, and unemployment 5.4% vs 2.3% — 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 $102,800 in 56208 versus $156,300 in 56249, with median rent of $752 and $585 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.4% vs 84.3%. 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.