ZIP 53190 vs ZIP 53156

This side-by-side compares ZIP 53190 (Whitewater, WI) and ZIP 53156 (Palmyra, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 53190 has a population of 19,200 at 55 people per square mile, while ZIP 53156 has 2,992 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 53190 reports a median household income of $66,069 against $85,313 in ZIP 53156, with per-capita income of $30,665 vs $41,505. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 35.3% in 53190 and 26.5% in 53156. Poverty rate reads 20.9% vs 9.0%, and unemployment 4.7% vs 3.2% — 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 $265,100 in 53190 versus $238,200 in 53156, with median rent of $1,041 and $778 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 46.9% vs 79.2%. 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.