ZIP 61372 vs ZIP 61301

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61372 (Troy Grove, IL) and ZIP 61301 (La Salle, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61372 has a population of 145 at 217 people per square mile, while ZIP 61301 has 10,588 at 103 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 61372 reports a median household income of $83,917 against $60,328 in ZIP 61301, with per-capita income of $25,245 vs $32,444. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.1% in 61372 and 18.3% in 61301. Poverty rate reads 47.3% vs 17.3%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 5.1% — 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 $200,800 in 61372 versus $129,000 in 61301, with median rent of $863 and $1,039 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.3% vs 68.0%. 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.