ZIP 54102 vs ZIP 54156

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54102 (Amberg, WI) and ZIP 54156 (Pembine, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54102 has a population of 875 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 54156 has 1,535 at 4 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 54102 reports a median household income of $41,917 against $49,625 in ZIP 54156, with per-capita income of $34,209 vs $28,601. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 7.7% in 54102 and 15.9% in 54156. Poverty rate reads 13.0% vs 12.4%, and unemployment 3.9% vs 9.5% — 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 $142,600 in 54102 versus $129,300 in 54156, with median rent of $546 and $794 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 93.8% vs 85.4%. 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.