ZIP 53045 vs ZIP 53005

This side-by-side compares ZIP 53045 (Brookfield, WI) and ZIP 53005 (Brookfield, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 53045 has a population of 21,686 at 582 people per square mile, while ZIP 53005 has 19,425 at 510 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 53045 reports a median household income of $123,750 against $126,739 in ZIP 53005, with per-capita income of $72,253 vs $62,629. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 64.0% in 53045 and 63.3% in 53005. Poverty rate reads 4.7% vs 2.9%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 2.5% — 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 $457,700 in 53045 versus $415,800 in 53005, with median rent of $2,015 and $1,875 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.3% vs 84.6%. 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.