ZIP 54121 vs ZIP 54542

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54121 (Florence, WI) and ZIP 54542 (Long Lake, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54121 has a population of 2,982 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 54542 has 470 at 1 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 54121 reports a median household income of $58,750 against $46,607 in ZIP 54542, with per-capita income of $41,541 vs $25,783. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.2% in 54121 and 15.4% in 54542. Poverty rate reads 7.0% vs 12.7%, and unemployment 5.6% vs 0.9% — 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 $189,600 in 54121 versus $122,000 in 54542, with median rent of $731 and $808 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.0% vs 87.2%. 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.