ZIP 61235 vs ZIP 61234

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61235 (Atkinson, IL) and ZIP 61234 (Annawan, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61235 has a population of 1,391 at 10 people per square mile, while ZIP 61234 has 1,258 at 8 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 61235 reports a median household income of $61,932 against $79,688 in ZIP 61234, with per-capita income of $42,680 vs $41,706. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.4% in 61235 and 30.8% in 61234. Poverty rate reads 5.1% vs 7.5%, and unemployment 6.1% vs 3.9% — 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 $132,800 in 61235 versus $146,500 in 61234, with median rent of $738 and $584 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.7% vs 79.7%. 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.