ZIP 60973 vs ZIP 60942

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60973 (Wellington, IL) and ZIP 60942 (Hoopeston, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60973 has a population of 385 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 60942 has 6,181 at 21 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 60973 reports a median household income of $85,250 against $61,083 in ZIP 60942, with per-capita income of $29,959 vs $32,686. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 8.0% in 60973 and 28.2% in 60942. Poverty rate reads 5.8% vs 14.4%, and unemployment 14.4% vs 7.3% — 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 $75,600 in 60973 versus $92,000 in 60942, with median rent of $1,098 and $893 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.2% vs 70.8%. 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.