ZIP 42459 vs ZIP 62919

This side-by-side compares ZIP 42459 (Sturgis, KY) and ZIP 62919 (Cave In Rock, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 42459 has a population of 4,423 at 14 people per square mile, while ZIP 62919 has 1,003 at 8 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 42459 reports a median household income of $51,563 against $63,942 in ZIP 62919, with per-capita income of $30,736 vs $36,518. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.9% in 42459 and 13.6% in 62919. Poverty rate reads 10.7% vs 7.6%, and unemployment 1.8% vs 1.5% — 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 $96,600 in 42459 versus $161,900 in 62919, with median rent of $663 and $490 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.9% vs 85.1%. 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.