ZIP 54909 vs ZIP 54406

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54909 (Almond, WI) and ZIP 54406 (Amherst, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54909 has a population of 2,181 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 54406 has 3,469 at 20 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 54909 reports a median household income of $80,417 against $77,533 in ZIP 54406, with per-capita income of $41,951 vs $43,310. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.5% in 54909 and 31.5% in 54406. Poverty rate reads 9.6% vs 4.6%, and unemployment 3.3% vs 0.8% — 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 $195,800 in 54909 versus $284,800 in 54406, with median rent of $944 and $919 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.6% vs 85.0%. 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.