ZIP 54149 vs ZIP 54138

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54149 (Mountain, WI) and ZIP 54138 (Lakewood, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54149 has a population of 1,184 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 54138 has 821 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 54149 reports a median household income of $50,250 against $67,000 in ZIP 54138, with per-capita income of $32,802 vs $47,468. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.2% in 54149 and 22.7% in 54138. Poverty rate reads 16.3% vs 14.1%, and unemployment 8.5% vs 3.0% — 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 $207,500 in 54149 versus $234,200 in 54138, with median rent of $1,632 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.6% vs 96.2%. 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.