ZIP 54729 vs ZIP 54720

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54729 (Chippewa Falls, WI) and ZIP 54720 (Altoona, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54729 has a population of 31,469 at 73 people per square mile, while ZIP 54720 has 7,039 at 555 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 54729 reports a median household income of $75,809 against $85,977 in ZIP 54720, with per-capita income of $42,049 vs $41,644. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.5% in 54729 and 42.3% in 54720. Poverty rate reads 9.5% vs 12.6%, and unemployment 3.2% vs 2.8% — 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 $283,500 in 54729 versus $236,700 in 54720, with median rent of $989 and $1,246 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.0% vs 54.6%. 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.