ZIP 56245 vs ZIP 56229

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56245 (Hanley Falls, MN) and ZIP 56229 (Cottonwood, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56245 has a population of 535 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 56229 has 1,871 at 7 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 56245 reports a median household income of $84,583 against $104,375 in ZIP 56229, with per-capita income of $41,362 vs $49,715. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.0% in 56245 and 27.7% in 56229. Poverty rate reads 7.0% vs 6.7%, and unemployment 0.4% vs 5.1% — 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 $148,200 in 56245 versus $205,600 in 56229, with median rent of $630 and $756 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.0% vs 83.6%. 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.