ZIP 61431 vs ZIP 61544

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61431 (Ellisville, IL) and ZIP 61544 (London Mills, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61431 has a population of 371 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 61544 has 713 at 8 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 61431 reports a median household income of $53,750 against $81,250 in ZIP 61544, with per-capita income of $44,047 vs $36,407. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.2% in 61431 and 17.6% in 61544. Poverty rate reads 8.0% vs 18.9%, and unemployment 1.6% vs 5.3% — 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 $97,500 in 61431 versus $95,900 in 61544, with median rent of — and $850 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 96.2% vs 87.3%. 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.