ZIP 61535 vs ZIP 61550

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61535 (Groveland, IL) and ZIP 61550 (Morton, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61535 has a population of 1,629 at 73 people per square mile, while ZIP 61550 has 17,721 at 167 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 61535 reports a median household income of $128,125 against $98,516 in ZIP 61550, with per-capita income of $47,537 vs $48,296. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 45.2% in 61535 and 43.0% in 61550. Poverty rate reads 0.0% vs 6.0%, and unemployment 2.3% vs 2.5% — 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 $242,900 in 61535 versus $246,700 in 61550, with median rent of — and $1,090 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 98.1% vs 81.3%. 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.