ZIP 54488 vs ZIP 54421

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54488 (Unity, WI) and ZIP 54421 (Colby, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54488 has a population of 1,262 at 12 people per square mile, while ZIP 54421 has 3,455 at 19 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 54488 reports a median household income of $63,571 against $60,820 in ZIP 54421, with per-capita income of $30,831 vs $28,436. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 9.5% in 54488 and 13.9% in 54421. Poverty rate reads 11.4% vs 13.7%, and unemployment 2.3% vs 1.4% — 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 $142,400 in 54488 versus $194,500 in 54421, with median rent of $827 and $844 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.7% vs 68.3%. 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.