ZIP 53581 vs ZIP 53556

This side-by-side compares ZIP 53581 (Richland Center, WI) and ZIP 53556 (Lone Rock, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 53581 has a population of 10,699 at 17 people per square mile, while ZIP 53556 has 2,594 at 22 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 53581 reports a median household income of $64,833 against $67,727 in ZIP 53556, with per-capita income of $37,705 vs $35,281. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.9% in 53581 and 14.7% in 53556. Poverty rate reads 14.2% vs 10.0%, and unemployment 3.7% vs 1.8% — 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 $196,100 in 53581 versus $185,400 in 53556, with median rent of $724 and $859 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 66.4% vs 84.0%. 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.