ZIP 61038 vs ZIP 61008

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61038 (Garden Prairie, IL) and ZIP 61008 (Belvidere, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61038 has a population of 1,354 at 12 people per square mile, while ZIP 61008 has 34,311 at 153 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 61038 reports a median household income of $104,875 against $76,604 in ZIP 61008, with per-capita income of $29,870 vs $39,514. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.6% in 61038 and 20.7% in 61008. Poverty rate reads 13.5% vs 12.3%, and unemployment 10.0% vs 6.8% — 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 $281,600 in 61038 versus $195,800 in 61008, with median rent of — and $998 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 95.4% vs 76.6%. 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.