ZIP 56550 vs ZIP 56574

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56550 (Hendrum, MN) and ZIP 56574 (Perley, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56550 has a population of 414 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 56574 has 266 at 2 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 56550 reports a median household income of $86,667 against $79,792 in ZIP 56574, with per-capita income of $40,766 vs $43,497. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.2% in 56550 and 15.8% in 56574. Poverty rate reads 9.0% vs 8.3%, and unemployment 1.7% vs 8.2% — 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 $172,500 in 56550 versus $162,500 in 56574, with median rent of $913 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.7% vs 100.0%. 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.