ZIP 61024 vs ZIP 61079

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61024 (Durand, IL) and ZIP 61079 (Shirland, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61024 has a population of 2,620 at 16 people per square mile, while ZIP 61079 has 188 at 41 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 61024 reports a median household income of $70,750 against $46,367 in ZIP 61079, with per-capita income of $38,924 vs $32,004. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.7% in 61024 and 27.2% in 61079. Poverty rate reads 4.7% vs 7.6%, and unemployment 1.6% vs 13.3% — 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 $152,700 in 61024 versus $123,200 in 61079, with median rent of $796 and $1,063 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.6% vs 84.2%. 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.