ZIP 54615 vs ZIP 54642

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54615 (Black River Falls, WI) and ZIP 54642 (Melrose, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54615 has a population of 10,742 at 14 people per square mile, while ZIP 54642 has 2,125 at 9 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 54615 reports a median household income of $67,033 against $73,452 in ZIP 54642, with per-capita income of $34,049 vs $37,757. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.9% in 54615 and 18.3% in 54642. Poverty rate reads 13.1% vs 15.5%, and unemployment 4.1% vs 3.6% — 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 $198,000 in 54615 versus $210,600 in 54642, with median rent of $781 and $872 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.2% vs 84.1%. 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.