ZIP 54837 vs ZIP 54872

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54837 (Frederic, WI) and ZIP 54872 (Siren, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54837 has a population of 3,778 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 54872 has 2,581 at 16 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 54837 reports a median household income of $71,010 against $60,787 in ZIP 54872, with per-capita income of $38,048 vs $36,644. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.2% in 54837 and 18.3% in 54872. Poverty rate reads 11.2% vs 16.6%, and unemployment 1.6% vs 3.6% — 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 $222,300 in 54837 versus $233,200 in 54872, with median rent of $763 and $730 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.9% vs 81.5%. 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.