ZIP 61284 vs ZIP 61232

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61284 (Taylor Ridge, IL) and ZIP 61232 (Andalusia, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61284 has a population of 2,292 at 20 people per square mile, while ZIP 61232 has 1,284 at 175 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 61284 reports a median household income of $100,505 against $73,971 in ZIP 61232, with per-capita income of $47,733 vs $43,777. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.0% in 61284 and 16.9% in 61232. Poverty rate reads 7.6% vs 3.3%, and unemployment 0.9% vs 1.8% — 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 $236,900 in 61284 versus $186,100 in 61232, with median rent of $862 and $967 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.8% vs 88.2%. 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.