ZIP 61447 vs ZIP 61478

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61447 (Kirkwood, IL) and ZIP 61478 (Smithshire, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61447 has a population of 924 at 10 people per square mile, while ZIP 61478 has 290 at 3 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 61447 reports a median household income of $82,583 against $75,625 in ZIP 61478, with per-capita income of $34,315 vs $31,299. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.2% in 61447 and 27.4% in 61478. Poverty rate reads 8.2% vs 18.1%, and unemployment 1.9% vs 0.0% — 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 $95,900 in 61447 versus $103,600 in 61478, with median rent of $938 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.2% vs 100.0%. 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.