ZIP 53534 vs ZIP 53545

This side-by-side compares ZIP 53534 (Edgerton, WI) and ZIP 53545 (Janesville, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 53534 has a population of 11,512 at 55 people per square mile, while ZIP 53545 has 23,117 at 360 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 53534 reports a median household income of $89,045 against $73,889 in ZIP 53545, with per-capita income of $42,323 vs $40,317. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.7% in 53534 and 29.8% in 53545. Poverty rate reads 6.3% vs 9.7%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 3.6% — 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 $294,900 in 53534 versus $220,700 in 53545, with median rent of $993 and $1,062 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.1% vs 64.7%. 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.