ZIP 56734 vs ZIP 56729

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