ZIP 61085 vs ZIP 61044

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61085 (Stockton, IL) and ZIP 61044 (Kent, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61085 has a population of 3,443 at 10 people per square mile, while ZIP 61044 has 232 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 61085 reports a median household income of $59,798 against $82,083 in ZIP 61044, with per-capita income of $34,981 vs $29,953. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.9% in 61085 and 66.5% in 61044. Poverty rate reads 11.4% vs 8.9%, and unemployment 6.8% vs 0.0% — 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 $131,300 in 61085 versus $150,000 in 61044, with median rent of $830 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.4% vs 100.0%. 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.