ZIP 54463 vs ZIP 54485

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54463 (Pelican Lake, 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 54463 has a population of 684 at 3 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 54463 reports a median household income of $59,310 against $83,438 in ZIP 54485, with per-capita income of $44,688 vs $48,013. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.1% in 54463 and 24.4% in 54485. Poverty rate reads 9.9% vs 5.6%, and unemployment 2.1% 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 $244,400 in 54463 versus $251,900 in 54485, with median rent of $808 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.4% 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.