ZIP 61344 vs ZIP 61361

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61344 (Mineral, IL) and ZIP 61361 (Sheffield, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61344 has a population of 374 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 61361 has 1,409 at 6 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 61344 reports a median household income of $44,063 against $91,250 in ZIP 61361, with per-capita income of $28,170 vs $40,416. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 4.6% in 61344 and 28.3% in 61361. Poverty rate reads 10.2% vs 7.1%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 2.2% — 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 $71,400 in 61344 versus $147,200 in 61361, with median rent of $750 and $884 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.1% vs 81.5%. 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.