ZIP 54635 vs ZIP 54611

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54635 (Hixton, WI) and ZIP 54611 (Alma Center, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54635 has a population of 1,799 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 54611 has 1,307 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 54635 reports a median household income of $72,566 against $71,667 in ZIP 54611, with per-capita income of $38,079 vs $31,028. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.6% in 54635 and 15.2% in 54611. Poverty rate reads 9.7% vs 11.1%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 7.2% — 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 $209,100 in 54635 versus $164,600 in 54611, with median rent of $688 and $738 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.2% vs 82.7%. 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.