ZIP 54406 vs ZIP 54458

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54406 (Amherst, WI) and ZIP 54458 (Nelsonville, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54406 has a population of 3,469 at 20 people per square mile, while ZIP 54458 has 124 at 72 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 54406 reports a median household income of $77,533 against $57,917 in ZIP 54458, with per-capita income of $43,310 vs $35,731. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.5% in 54406 and 36.8% in 54458. Poverty rate reads 4.6% vs 7.5%, and unemployment 0.8% vs 2.4% — 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 $284,800 in 54406 versus $150,000 in 54458, with median rent of $919 and $790 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.0% vs 75.8%. 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.