ZIP 56742 vs ZIP 56684

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56742 (Oklee, MN) and ZIP 56684 (Trail, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56742 has a population of 918 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 56684 has 282 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 56742 reports a median household income of $92,500 against $73,750 in ZIP 56684, with per-capita income of $37,673 vs $39,584. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.7% in 56742 and 13.9% in 56684. Poverty rate reads 9.5% vs 20.4%, and unemployment 0.5% vs 4.8% — 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 $143,300 in 56742 versus $138,800 in 56684, with median rent of $675 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.7% vs 98.1%. 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.