ZIP 53538 vs ZIP 53549

This side-by-side compares ZIP 53538 (Fort Atkinson, WI) and ZIP 53549 (Jefferson, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 53538 has a population of 18,468 at 72 people per square mile, while ZIP 53549 has 10,414 at 58 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 53538 reports a median household income of $82,783 against $80,101 in ZIP 53549, with per-capita income of $41,516 vs $46,669. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.6% in 53538 and 22.8% in 53549. Poverty rate reads 6.7% vs 9.8%, and unemployment 3.7% vs 2.3% — 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 $245,900 in 53538 versus $262,200 in 53549, with median rent of $955 and $1,066 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.3% vs 72.1%. 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.