ZIP 61312 vs ZIP 61317

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61312 (Arlington, IL) and ZIP 61317 (Cherry, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61312 has a population of 474 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 61317 has 513 at 61 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 61312 reports a median household income of $80,714 against $58,750 in ZIP 61317, with per-capita income of $52,229 vs $38,791. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.9% in 61312 and 17.0% in 61317. Poverty rate reads 10.2% vs 12.1%, and unemployment 6.5% vs 1.7% — 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 $156,100 in 61312 versus $103,300 in 61317, with median rent of $1,038 and $675 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.9% vs 87.2%. 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.