ZIP 61274 vs ZIP 61273

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61274 (Osco, IL) and ZIP 61273 (Orion, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61274 has a population of 351 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 61273 has 3,316 at 27 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 61274 reports a median household income of $72,000 against $99,032 in ZIP 61273, with per-capita income of $41,321 vs $42,952. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.5% in 61274 and 31.1% in 61273. Poverty rate reads 5.1% vs 5.8%, and unemployment 15.7% 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 $128,800 in 61274 versus $187,400 in 61273, with median rent of — and $840 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.8% vs 83.0%. 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.