ZIP 54541 vs ZIP 54566

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54541 (Laona, WI) and ZIP 54566 (Wabeno, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54541 has a population of 1,552 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 54566 has 1,496 at 4 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 54541 reports a median household income of $63,438 against $56,250 in ZIP 54566, with per-capita income of $30,693 vs $33,951. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.2% in 54541 and 15.8% in 54566. Poverty rate reads 23.5% vs 13.1%, and unemployment 1.5% vs 6.5% — 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 $193,800 in 54541 versus $209,400 in 54566, with median rent of $579 and $658 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.6% vs 82.9%. 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.