ZIP 53209 vs ZIP 53218

This side-by-side compares ZIP 53209 (Milwaukee, WI) and ZIP 53218 (Milwaukee, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 53209 has a population of 46,917 at 1,665 people per square mile, while ZIP 53218 has 40,625 at 2,671 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 53209 reports a median household income of $48,486 against $45,642 in ZIP 53218, with per-capita income of $29,409 vs $22,824. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.2% in 53209 and 10.7% in 53218. Poverty rate reads 23.7% vs 25.9%, and unemployment 8.6% vs 10.3% — 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 $166,700 in 53209 versus $133,400 in 53218, with median rent of $988 and $1,067 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 43.8% vs 42.9%. 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.