ZIP 47861 vs ZIP 62451

This side-by-side compares ZIP 47861 (Merom, IN) and ZIP 62451 (Palestine, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 47861 has a population of 616 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 62451 has 2,156 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 47861 reports a median household income of $56,484 against $63,665 in ZIP 62451, with per-capita income of $31,733 vs $36,401. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.8% in 47861 and 14.6% in 62451. Poverty rate reads 11.3% vs 13.2%, and unemployment 8.2% vs 2.3% — 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 $198,800 in 47861 versus $89,600 in 62451, with median rent of $1,077 and $738 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.7% vs 82.8%. 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.