ZIP 61270 vs ZIP 61261

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61270 (Morrison, IL) and ZIP 61261 (Lyndon, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61270 has a population of 7,306 at 19 people per square mile, while ZIP 61261 has 975 at 21 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 61270 reports a median household income of $80,867 against $64,375 in ZIP 61261, with per-capita income of $38,277 vs $39,594. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.7% in 61270 and 22.9% in 61261. Poverty rate reads 5.0% vs 2.9%, and unemployment 2.7% 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 $164,600 in 61270 versus $134,100 in 61261, with median rent of $903 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.1% vs 89.3%. 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.