ZIP 53959 vs ZIP 53961

This side-by-side compares ZIP 53959 (Reedsburg, WI) and ZIP 53961 (Rock Springs, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 53959 has a population of 13,384 at 47 people per square mile, while ZIP 53961 has 837 at 14 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 53959 reports a median household income of $77,924 against $77,298 in ZIP 53961, with per-capita income of $41,436 vs $37,632. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.3% in 53959 and 13.5% in 53961. Poverty rate reads 8.5% vs 7.7%, and unemployment 2.7% vs 2.5% — 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 $255,300 in 53959 versus $210,500 in 53961, with median rent of $995 and $1,181 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.7% vs 80.7%. 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.