ZIP 54428 vs ZIP 54485

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54428 (Elcho, WI) and ZIP 54485 (Summit Lake, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54428 has a population of 1,127 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 54485 has 322 at 6 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 54428 reports a median household income of $49,167 against $83,438 in ZIP 54485, with per-capita income of $31,884 vs $48,013. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.8% in 54428 and 24.4% in 54485. Poverty rate reads 23.4% vs 5.6%, and unemployment 3.0% vs 2.2% — 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 $214,800 in 54428 versus $251,900 in 54485, with median rent of $495 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.5% vs 98.3%. 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.