ZIP 61046 vs ZIP 61078

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61046 (Lanark, IL) and ZIP 61078 (Shannon, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61046 has a population of 2,831 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 61078 has 1,374 at 9 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 61046 reports a median household income of $79,398 against $75,769 in ZIP 61078, with per-capita income of $46,365 vs $30,558. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.8% in 61046 and 16.9% in 61078. Poverty rate reads 8.0% vs 18.9%, and unemployment 3.0% vs 0.8% — 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 $167,400 in 61046 versus $133,100 in 61078, with median rent of $771 and $715 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.4% vs 87.0%. 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.