ZIP 53074 vs ZIP 53004

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