ZIP 54747 vs ZIP 54612

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54747 (Independence, WI) and ZIP 54612 (Arcadia, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54747 has a population of 2,534 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 54612 has 5,152 at 13 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 54747 reports a median household income of $70,820 against $77,647 in ZIP 54612, with per-capita income of $33,665 vs $32,045. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.3% in 54747 and 16.1% in 54612. Poverty rate reads 8.8% vs 12.4%, and unemployment 2.5% vs 4.4% — 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 $192,600 in 54747 versus $196,400 in 54612, with median rent of $916 and $1,102 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 65.0% vs 67.0%. 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.