ZIP 56229 vs ZIP 56245

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56229 (Cottonwood, MN) and ZIP 56245 (Hanley Falls, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56229 has a population of 1,871 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 56245 has 535 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 56229 reports a median household income of $104,375 against $84,583 in ZIP 56245, with per-capita income of $49,715 vs $41,362. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.7% in 56229 and 10.0% in 56245. Poverty rate reads 6.7% vs 7.0%, and unemployment 5.1% vs 0.4% — 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 $205,600 in 56229 versus $148,200 in 56245, with median rent of $756 and $630 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.6% vs 71.0%. 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.