ZIP 61232 vs ZIP 52728

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61232 (Andalusia, IL) and ZIP 52728 (Buffalo, IA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61232 has a population of 1,284 at 175 people per square mile, while ZIP 52728 has 1,110 at 269 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 61232 reports a median household income of $73,971 against $69,239 in ZIP 52728, with per-capita income of $43,777 vs $32,682. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.9% in 61232 and 12.2% in 52728. Poverty rate reads 3.3% vs 19.9%, and unemployment 1.8% vs 2.3% — 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 $186,100 in 61232 versus $120,900 in 52728, with median rent of $967 and $769 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.2% 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.