ZIP 61021 vs ZIP 61310

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61021 (Dixon, IL) and ZIP 61310 (Amboy, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61021 has a population of 23,745 at 61 people per square mile, while ZIP 61310 has 3,970 at 14 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 61021 reports a median household income of $69,127 against $69,756 in ZIP 61310, with per-capita income of $35,761 vs $37,248. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.1% in 61021 and 10.8% in 61310. Poverty rate reads 13.7% vs 10.6%, and unemployment 5.1% vs 8.2% - 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 $148,500 in 61021 versus $165,800 in 61310, with median rent of $879 and $847 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.8% vs 79.5%. 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.