ZIP 54653 vs ZIP 54614

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54653 (Rockland, WI) and ZIP 54614 (Bangor, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54653 has a population of 894 at 20 people per square mile, while ZIP 54614 has 2,947 at 14 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 54653 reports a median household income of $72,596 against $85,588 in ZIP 54614, with per-capita income of $31,059 vs $41,289. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.9% in 54653 and 25.9% in 54614. Poverty rate reads 8.2% vs 6.6%, and unemployment 1.6% vs 2.6% — 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 $264,200 in 54653 versus $250,300 in 54614, with median rent of $983 and $957 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.2% vs 77.5%. 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.