ZIP 56401 vs ZIP 56455

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56401 (Brainerd, MN) and ZIP 56455 (Ironton, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56401 has a population of 29,439 at 35 people per square mile, while ZIP 56455 has 1,488 at 24 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 56401 reports a median household income of $73,128 against $73,214 in ZIP 56455, with per-capita income of $37,969 vs $35,864. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.4% in 56401 and 24.6% in 56455. Poverty rate reads 10.1% vs 8.9%, and unemployment 6.4% vs 9.1% — 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 $261,600 in 56401 versus $222,600 in 56455, with median rent of $883 and $1,013 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.6% vs 78.4%. 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.