ZIP 61041 vs ZIP 61028

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61041 (Hanover, IL) and ZIP 61028 (Elizabeth, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61041 has a population of 1,327 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 61028 has 1,989 at 7 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 61041 reports a median household income of $45,938 against $86,053 in ZIP 61028, with per-capita income of $26,386 vs $43,175. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.0% in 61041 and 29.6% in 61028. Poverty rate reads 16.4% vs 8.2%, and unemployment 7.9% vs 0.7% — 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 $114,900 in 61041 versus $174,400 in 61028, with median rent of $734 and $742 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.0% vs 82.0%. 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.