ZIP 53004 vs ZIP 53074

This side-by-side compares ZIP 53004 (Belgium, WI) and ZIP 53074 (Port Washington, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 53004 has a population of 3,330 at 36 people per square mile, while ZIP 53074 has 12,880 at 165 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 53004 reports a median household income of $84,821 against $79,423 in ZIP 53074, with per-capita income of $42,586 vs $44,157. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.8% in 53004 and 37.1% in 53074. Poverty rate reads 2.8% vs 7.6%, and unemployment 3.8% vs 1.9% — 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 $256,000 in 53004 versus $296,600 in 53074, with median rent of $982 and $1,011 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.4% vs 66.9%. 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.