ZIP 53965 vs ZIP 53948

This side-by-side compares ZIP 53965 (Wisconsin Dells, WI) and ZIP 53948 (Mauston, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 53965 has a population of 10,398 at 24 people per square mile, while ZIP 53948 has 8,414 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 53965 reports a median household income of $66,667 against $62,829 in ZIP 53948, with per-capita income of $37,566 vs $34,002. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.4% in 53965 and 19.5% in 53948. Poverty rate reads 11.8% vs 17.7%, and unemployment 6.9% 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 $227,000 in 53965 versus $182,400 in 53948, with median rent of $956 and $889 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.9% vs 72.5%. 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.