ZIP 61236 vs ZIP 61244

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61236 (Barstow, IL) and ZIP 61244 (East Moline, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61236 has a population of 193 at 52 people per square mile, while ZIP 61244 has 24,053 at 355 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 61236 reports a median household income of $77,813 against $63,819 in ZIP 61244, with per-capita income of $28,400 vs $30,778. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 8.7% in 61236 and 21.7% in 61244. Poverty rate reads 0.0% vs 18.0%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 3.4% — 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 $159,400 in 61236 versus $139,400 in 61244, with median rent of — and $869 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.2% vs 67.0%. 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.