ZIP 61234 vs ZIP 61344

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61234 (Annawan, IL) and ZIP 61344 (Mineral, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61234 has a population of 1,258 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 61344 has 374 at 6 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 61234 reports a median household income of $79,688 against $44,063 in ZIP 61344, with per-capita income of $41,706 vs $28,170. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.8% in 61234 and 4.6% in 61344. Poverty rate reads 7.5% vs 10.2%, and unemployment 3.9% 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 $146,500 in 61234 versus $71,400 in 61344, with median rent of $584 and $750 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.7% vs 86.1%. 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.