ZIP 54448 vs ZIP 54401

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54448 (Marathon, 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 54448 has a population of 4,249 at 18 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 54448 reports a median household income of $94,432 against $71,586 in ZIP 54401, with per-capita income of $46,768 vs $38,525. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.3% in 54448 and 30.9% in 54401. Poverty rate reads 2.9% vs 12.1%, and unemployment 1.4% 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 $246,900 in 54448 versus $196,700 in 54401, with median rent of $860 and $1,018 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.6% 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.