ZIP 54945 vs ZIP 54977

This side-by-side compares ZIP 54945 (Iola, WI) and ZIP 54977 (Scandinavia, WI) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 54945 has a population of 3,545 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 54977 has 1,337 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 54945 reports a median household income of $69,602 against $81,328 in ZIP 54977, with per-capita income of $39,268 vs $37,355. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.9% in 54945 and 15.8% in 54977. Poverty rate reads 8.5% vs 7.6%, and unemployment 2.5% vs 3.3% — 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 $216,800 in 54945 versus $249,300 in 54977, with median rent of $800 and $850 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.1% vs 91.8%. 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.