ZIP 53817 vs ZIP 53801

This side-by-side compares ZIP 53817 (Patch Grove, WI) and ZIP 53801 (Bagley, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 53817 has a population of 205 at 51 people per square mile, while ZIP 53801 has 878 at 6 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 53817 reports a median household income of $48,958 against $65,357 in ZIP 53801, with per-capita income of $25,653 vs $33,664. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 5.8% in 53817 and 13.5% in 53801. Poverty rate reads 7.9% vs 10.4%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 1.5% — 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 $150,300 in 53817 versus $135,100 in 53801, with median rent of $688 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.6% vs 83.6%. 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.