ZIP 54923 vs ZIP 53946

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54923 (Berlin, WI) and ZIP 53946 (Markesan, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54923 has a population of 8,733 at 25 people per square mile, while ZIP 53946 has 4,386 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 54923 reports a median household income of $66,223 against $72,450 in ZIP 53946, with per-capita income of $36,385 vs $40,647. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.2% in 54923 and 23.6% in 53946. Poverty rate reads 11.4% vs 16.8%, and unemployment 1.9% vs 4.3% — 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 $189,300 in 54923 versus $245,500 in 53946, with median rent of $835 and $723 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 68.7% vs 81.6%. 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.