ZIP 54135 vs ZIP 54166

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54135 (Keshena, WI) and ZIP 54166 (Shawano, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54135 has a population of 3,096 at 15 people per square mile, while ZIP 54166 has 17,002 at 46 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 54135 reports a median household income of $65,652 against $62,791 in ZIP 54166, with per-capita income of $27,601 vs $37,052. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.4% in 54135 and 21.9% in 54166. Poverty rate reads 23.0% vs 12.6%, and unemployment 10.0% vs 1.9% — 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 $136,500 in 54135 versus $190,800 in 54166, with median rent of $652 and $838 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.1% vs 70.5%. 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.