
Washburn County · Wisconsin
ZIP code 54888
- Population
- 1,320
- Median income
- $67,232
- Median home
- $216,000
- Sales tax
- 5%
ZCTA residents
Household, past 12 months
Owner-occupied value
Wisconsin state rate
Quick answer
ZIP 54888 sits in Washburn County, Wisconsin and is home to 1,320 people. Median household income is $67,232, the median home is worth $216,000 and median gross rent is $738. 89.6% of households own their home, and purchases are taxed at 5% (Wisconsin state rate).
- County
- Washburn County
- State
- Wisconsin (WI)
- Area codes
- Not published
- Metro area
- Outside covered metros
FIPS 55129
783 ZIPs covered
No NANPA match for this ZIP
Rate jurisdiction used for tax
The numbers for 54888
American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates for this ZCTA.
- Population
- 1,320ZIP 54888 residents
- Median household income
- $67,232Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
- Median home value
- $216,000Owner-occupied units
- Median gross rent
- $738Rent plus utilities, monthly
- Median age
- 58.7 yrsAll residents
- Homeownership rate
- 89.6%Owner-occupied households
ZIP 54888 in context
How this area compares with national benchmarks.
ZIP 54888 is a small town in Washburn County, Wisconsin, with 1,320 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #575 of 783 ranked by population — larger than 26% of them. The median age here is 58.7 years against 39.1 nationally, a markedly older profile that usually tracks retirees staying put and younger households leaving for work. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.
Households in ZIP 54888 earn a median of $67,232 a year, 14.4% below the national figure of $78,538. This figure covers the household, not the worker: two people on ordinary wages at one address outrank a single professional in the same table. Poverty reaches 10.1% of residents here, below the 12.4% national rate.
The typical owner-occupied home in ZIP 54888 is valued at $216,000, 28.8% below the national figure, while median gross rent runs $738 a month, 47.5% below the national figure, or roughly $8,856 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 13.2% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 3.2×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 89.6% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, an owner-dominated market where rental listings are scarce and rent medians rest on a thin sample. Rent is reported gross — contract rent plus tenant-paid utilities — which is why it runs above the advertised price on a listing for the same unit.
A median age of 58.7 puts ZIP 54888 well into retirement-weighted territory, which pulls median household income down even where household wealth is high, because retirement draws are counted differently from wages.
No figure on this page is estimated by us; each one comes straight from the published ACS tables for this area. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.
Reading ZIP 54888 in context
How 54888 sits inside Washburn County and Wisconsin.
ZIP 54888 is tabulated inside Washburn County, Wisconsin, one of 7 ZIP areas the Census publishes for that county and 783 across Wisconsin. Fewer than 2,500 people are counted here, so the ZIP behaves like a village delivery route rather than a neighbourhood. County assignment on this page follows the largest share of the ZIP's land area, which matters where a delivery route crosses a county line: mail addressed to 54888 can be handled by a post office in a neighbouring county even though the tabulation area is filed here.
Against its own county, 54888 reports a median household income of $67,232, 5% above the $64,097 county median, and 8% below the $73,420 typical WI ZIP. Owner-occupied homes are valued at a median of $216,000, close to the county figure and close to the statewide ZIP median. Rent is reported gross — the contract amount plus tenant-paid utilities — at $738 a month, which is why it reads higher than the advertised rent on a listing for the same unit.
Wisconsin charges 5% statewide, and local governments overlapping 54888 may add county, city or special-district levies on top. We publish the state floor for this ZIP rather than guessing a combined figure, because ZIP boundaries and taxing-district boundaries were drawn for different purposes and do not line up.
Everything above comes from the Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates for this ZIP Code Tabulation Area, with sales tax rates traced to the state revenue agency. Five-year estimates pool sixty months of responses, so they are stable enough to compare 54888 with its neighbours but always trail the current year, and any value the Census suppressed for sample size is shown as unpublished rather than filled in with a model.
Sales tax in 54888
What a purchase inside this ZIP costs at checkout.
Wisconsin levies 5% statewide, and counties, cities and special districts inside this ZIP can add their own local rate on top. Check the county page for the local component before you quote a price.
Affordability in this ZIP
Derived from the Census medians above — indicative, not an offer.
A rent burden above 30% is the federal threshold for cost-burdened households, and a price-to-income multiple above 4× is generally considered a stretched housing market. The mortgage figure is principal and interest only — taxes, insurance and HOA dues are extra.
How 54888 compares
ZIP 54888 against the median ZIP in Washburn County and across Wisconsin.
| Measure | ZIP 54888 | County median | State median | vs state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $67,232 | $64,097 | $73,420 | -8% |
| Median home value | $216,000 | $215,100 | $214,300 | +1% |
| Median gross rent | $738 | $812 | $900 | -18% |
| Population | 1,320 | 2,105 | 2,792 | -53% |
Medians are computed across the 7 ZIP areas in Washburn County and the 783 ZIP areas in Wisconsin.
Statewide rank
Where this ZIP places among all 783 Wisconsin ZIP areas.
- Income
- #506
- Home value
- #372
- Population
- #575
richer than 33% of 760 state ZIPs
above 51% of 762 state ZIPs
larger than 27% of 783 state ZIPs
Comparable ZIP codes
Wisconsin ZIP areas with almost the same household income.
Nearby ZIP codes
Other ZIP codes filed under Washburn County.
Adjacent ZIP Codes
Other ZIP codes in Washburn County, Wisconsin.
ZIP 54888 questions
Common questions about this ZIP code.
- Where is ZIP code 54888?
- ZIP 54888 lies mostly in Washburn County, Wisconsin. County assignment follows the largest share of land area, so a ZIP straddling a county line is filed under its dominant county.
- What sales tax do I pay in 54888?
- Wisconsin charges 5% statewide, plus any county, city or district rate that applies locally.
- Is 54888 expensive to live in?
- Median rent runs $738 a month, about 13% of median household income, and the median home is worth $216,000 — +1% against the typical Wisconsin ZIP.
- Is a ZCTA the same as a postal ZIP code?
- Not exactly. The Census builds ZIP Code Tabulation Areas from the ZIP codes of addresses inside each census block, so a ZCTA can differ slightly from the USPS delivery route of the same number, and PO-box-only ZIPs have no ZCTA at all.
Keep going
Related pages for this area.
Sources & transparency
- US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates — 2019-2023 ACS 5-year — population, income, housing
- Census 2020 ZCTA-to-county relationship file — County assignment by largest land-area overlap
- Wisconsin Department of Revenue — Sales tax rates and local add-ons
Last reviewed December 2024. Figures are published for reference and can change; verify with the source agency before filing or contracting. How we build and check this data.