ZIP 56215 vs ZIP 56226

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56215 (Benson, MN) and ZIP 56226 (Clontarf, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56215 has a population of 4,693 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 56226 has 254 at 3 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 56215 reports a median household income of $56,604 against $111,750 in ZIP 56226, with per-capita income of $36,574 vs $45,039. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.3% in 56215 and 22.7% in 56226. Poverty rate reads 9.0% vs 5.6%, and unemployment 3.6% vs 0.0% — 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 $167,500 in 56215 versus $248,100 in 56226, with median rent of $982 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 68.4% vs 91.5%. 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.