ZIP 54820 vs ZIP 54854

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54820 (Brule, WI) and ZIP 54854 (Maple, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54820 has a population of 864 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 54854 has 990 at 5 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 54820 reports a median household income of $85,179 against $88,125 in ZIP 54854, with per-capita income of $47,089 vs $38,145. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.4% in 54820 and 29.4% in 54854. Poverty rate reads 6.2% vs 6.8%, and unemployment 2.5% vs 4.2% — 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 $250,500 in 54820 versus $208,600 in 54854, with median rent of $855 and $753 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.4% vs 87.9%. 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.