ZIP 54720 vs ZIP 54703

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54720 (Altoona, WI) and ZIP 54703 (Eau Claire, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54720 has a population of 7,039 at 555 people per square mile, while ZIP 54703 has 42,272 at 206 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 54720 reports a median household income of $85,977 against $71,518 in ZIP 54703, with per-capita income of $41,644 vs $39,697. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 42.3% in 54720 and 32.4% in 54703. Poverty rate reads 12.6% vs 13.6%, and unemployment 2.8% 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 $236,700 in 54720 versus $243,700 in 54703, with median rent of $1,246 and $1,062 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 54.6% vs 61.6%. 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.