ZIP 53531 vs ZIP 53527

This side-by-side compares ZIP 53531 (Deerfield, WI) and ZIP 53527 (Cottage Grove, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 53531 has a population of 4,338 at 40 people per square mile, while ZIP 53527 has 9,963 at 107 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 53531 reports a median household income of $105,000 against $133,883 in ZIP 53527, with per-capita income of $44,543 vs $54,632. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 38.0% in 53531 and 52.5% in 53527. Poverty rate reads 5.9% vs 3.4%, and unemployment 1.8% vs 2.1% — 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 $353,300 in 53531 versus $444,700 in 53527, with median rent of $1,221 and $1,505 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.6% vs 76.4%. 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.