ZIP 56314 vs ZIP 56340

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56314 (Bowlus, MN) and ZIP 56340 (Holdingford, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56314 has a population of 1,258 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 56340 has 2,288 at 18 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 56314 reports a median household income of $95,972 against $96,250 in ZIP 56340, with per-capita income of $43,222 vs $38,353. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.1% in 56314 and 18.7% in 56340. Poverty rate reads 4.3% vs 3.3%, and unemployment 1.2% vs 1.9% — 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 $262,800 in 56314 versus $294,900 in 56340, with median rent of $775 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.2% vs 93.8%. 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.