ZIP 61281 vs ZIP 61276

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61281 (Sherrard, IL) and ZIP 61276 (Preemption, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61281 has a population of 2,597 at 26 people per square mile, while ZIP 61276 has 138 at 23 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 61281 reports a median household income of $102,639 against $87,750 in ZIP 61276, with per-capita income of $49,103 vs $35,105. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.1% in 61281 and 12.7% in 61276. Poverty rate reads 4.6% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 2.1% 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 $224,000 in 61281 versus $89,000 in 61276, with median rent of $763 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 92.4% vs 100.0%. 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.