ZIP 53188 vs ZIP 53186

This side-by-side compares ZIP 53188 (Waukesha, WI) and ZIP 53186 (Waukesha, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 53188 has a population of 35,195 at 493 people per square mile, while ZIP 53186 has 33,592 at 1,032 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 53188 reports a median household income of $92,409 against $74,588 in ZIP 53186, with per-capita income of $47,556 vs $42,053. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 43.0% in 53188 and 41.7% in 53186. Poverty rate reads 8.9% vs 9.2%, and unemployment 2.6% vs 2.7% — 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 $348,600 in 53188 versus $301,100 in 53186, with median rent of $1,268 and $1,229 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.1% vs 55.1%. 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.