ZIP 56729 vs ZIP 56734

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56729 (Halma, MN) and ZIP 56734 (Lake Bronson, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56729 has a population of 140 at 1 people per square mile, while ZIP 56734 has 467 at 1 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 56729 reports a median household income of $78,750 against $78,281 in ZIP 56734, with per-capita income of $33,032 vs $43,410. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.7% in 56729 and 30.9% in 56734. Poverty rate reads 3.3% vs 15.5%, and unemployment 3.0% vs 9.4% — 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 $158,300 in 56729 versus $85,400 in 56734, with median rent of $658 and $645 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.0% vs 80.1%. 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.