ZIP 61250 vs ZIP 61251

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61250 (Erie, IL) and ZIP 61251 (Fenton, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61250 has a population of 2,737 at 12 people per square mile, while ZIP 61251 has 347 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 61250 reports a median household income of $84,688 against $79,464 in ZIP 61251, with per-capita income of $39,812 vs $32,686. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.4% in 61250 and 0.0% in 61251. Poverty rate reads 3.7% vs 8.5%, and unemployment 4.9% vs 10.0% — 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 $167,700 in 61250 versus $190,900 in 61251, with median rent of $838 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.8% 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.