ZIP 54234 vs ZIP 54211

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54234 (Sister Bay, WI) and ZIP 54211 (Ephraim, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54234 has a population of 1,614 at 26 people per square mile, while ZIP 54211 has 277 at 30 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 54234 reports a median household income of $74,583 against $100,938 in ZIP 54211, with per-capita income of $52,953 vs $94,001. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 52.3% in 54234 and 78.4% in 54211. Poverty rate reads 13.8% vs 7.7%, and unemployment 3.5% vs 0.0% — 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 $456,300 in 54234 versus $500,000 in 54211, with median rent of $1,328 and $956 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.0% vs 88.8%. 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.