ZIP 56260 vs ZIP 56222

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56260 (Maynard, MN) and ZIP 56222 (Clara City, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56260 has a population of 929 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 56222 has 1,984 at 8 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 56260 reports a median household income of $75,750 against $71,429 in ZIP 56222, with per-capita income of $39,606 vs $34,640. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.1% in 56260 and 19.3% in 56222. Poverty rate reads 12.3% vs 7.6%, and unemployment 2.6% 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 $183,300 in 56260 versus $156,600 in 56222, with median rent of $1,341 and $1,066 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.4% vs 71.9%. 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.