ZIP 53217 vs ZIP 53209

This side-by-side compares ZIP 53217 (Milwaukee, WI) and ZIP 53209 (Milwaukee, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 53217 has a population of 29,192 at 797 people per square mile, while ZIP 53209 has 46,917 at 1,665 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 53217 reports a median household income of $133,021 against $48,486 in ZIP 53209, with per-capita income of $77,753 vs $29,409. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 73.1% in 53217 and 28.2% in 53209. Poverty rate reads 5.2% vs 23.7%, and unemployment 2.2% vs 8.6% — 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 $449,100 in 53217 versus $166,700 in 53209, with median rent of $1,591 and $988 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.1% vs 43.8%. 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.