ZIP 54009 vs ZIP 54020

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54009 (Dresser, WI) and ZIP 54020 (Osceola, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54009 has a population of 2,509 at 30 people per square mile, while ZIP 54020 has 7,260 at 37 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 54009 reports a median household income of $89,861 against $74,702 in ZIP 54020, with per-capita income of $40,893 vs $42,070. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.4% in 54009 and 27.8% in 54020. Poverty rate reads 7.9% vs 8.3%, and unemployment 4.0% vs 4.9% — 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 $249,300 in 54009 versus $306,500 in 54020, with median rent of $1,111 and $1,022 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.1% vs 77.3%. 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.