ZIP 54417 vs ZIP 54401

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54417 (Brokaw, WI) and ZIP 54401 (Wausau, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54417 has a population of 46 at 57 people per square mile, while ZIP 54401 has 30,702 at 142 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 54417 reports a median household income of — against $71,586 in ZIP 54401, with per-capita income of — vs $38,525. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 0.0% in 54417 and 30.9% in 54401. Poverty rate reads 0.0% vs 12.1%, and unemployment — vs 3.4% — 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 — in 54417 versus $196,700 in 54401, with median rent of — and $1,018 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 100.0% vs 67.0%. 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.