ZIP 54017 vs ZIP 54026

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54017 (New Richmond, WI) and ZIP 54026 (Star Prairie, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54017 has a population of 16,743 at 47 people per square mile, while ZIP 54026 has 1,809 at 25 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 54017 reports a median household income of $98,571 against $95,833 in ZIP 54026, with per-capita income of $41,857 vs $48,405. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 33.8% in 54017 and 26.4% in 54026. Poverty rate reads 9.2% vs 4.7%, and unemployment 2.9% 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 $321,700 in 54017 versus $342,200 in 54026, with median rent of $1,225 and $1,308 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.5% vs 92.1%. 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.