ZIP 61283 vs ZIP 61243

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61283 (Tampico, IL) and ZIP 61243 (Deer Grove, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61283 has a population of 1,640 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 61243 has 264 at 4 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 61283 reports a median household income of $64,063 against $148,309 in ZIP 61243, with per-capita income of $31,537 vs $62,448. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.8% in 61283 and 30.0% in 61243. Poverty rate reads 9.9% vs 2.6%, and unemployment 3.7% vs 6.9% — 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 $122,300 in 61283 versus $172,700 in 61243, with median rent of $900 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.2% vs 84.7%. 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.