ZIP 61356 vs ZIP 61362

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61356 (Princeton, IL) and ZIP 61362 (Spring Valley, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61356 has a population of 11,281 at 25 people per square mile, while ZIP 61362 has 5,911 at 92 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 61356 reports a median household income of $68,243 against $71,558 in ZIP 61362, with per-capita income of $41,434 vs $34,671. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.5% in 61356 and 18.1% in 61362. Poverty rate reads 11.9% vs 6.8%, and unemployment 5.1% vs 2.8% — 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 $152,900 in 61356 versus $158,000 in 61362, with median rent of $794 and $917 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.9% vs 66.5%. 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.