ZIP 61230 vs ZIP 61242

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61230 (Albany, IL) and ZIP 61242 (Cordova, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61230 has a population of 1,232 at 25 people per square mile, while ZIP 61242 has 1,145 at 14 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 61230 reports a median household income of $62,344 against $104,219 in ZIP 61242, with per-capita income of $32,168 vs $55,288. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.5% in 61230 and 35.5% in 61242. Poverty rate reads 5.3% vs 4.7%, and unemployment 4.6% vs 3.6% — 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 $138,600 in 61230 versus $218,100 in 61242, with median rent of $736 and $850 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.3% vs 86.8%. 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.