ZIP 56296 vs ZIP 56219

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56296 (Wheaton, MN) and ZIP 56219 (Browns Valley, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56296 has a population of 2,029 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 56219 has 1,082 at 6 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 56296 reports a median household income of $53,527 against $68,833 in ZIP 56219, with per-capita income of $35,888 vs $48,057. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.6% in 56296 and 11.5% in 56219. Poverty rate reads 14.0% vs 11.5%, and unemployment 5.0% vs 6.5% — 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 $103,800 in 56296 versus $150,000 in 56219, with median rent of $612 and $633 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.5% vs 82.3%. 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.