ZIP 54414 vs ZIP 54450

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54414 (Birnamwood, WI) and ZIP 54450 (Mattoon, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54414 has a population of 3,404 at 10 people per square mile, while ZIP 54450 has 436 at 101 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 54414 reports a median household income of $72,500 against $68,750 in ZIP 54450, with per-capita income of $35,268 vs $30,513. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.1% in 54414 and 7.5% in 54450. Poverty rate reads 10.5% vs 19.1%, and unemployment 1.6% vs 0.5% — 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 $200,100 in 54414 versus $86,700 in 54450, with median rent of $686 and $960 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.6% vs 77.4%. 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.