ZIP 53717 vs ZIP 53705

This side-by-side compares ZIP 53717 (Madison, WI) and ZIP 53705 (Madison, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 53717 has a population of 11,962 at 1,267 people per square mile, while ZIP 53705 has 23,494 at 1,379 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 53717 reports a median household income of $98,180 against $88,549 in ZIP 53705, with per-capita income of $63,762 vs $64,413. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 65.3% in 53717 and 76.8% in 53705. Poverty rate reads 8.0% vs 10.9%, and unemployment 1.7% vs 2.0% — 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 $415,100 in 53717 versus $475,400 in 53705, with median rent of $1,468 and $1,352 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 53.3% vs 49.7%. 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.