ZIP 61537 vs ZIP 61565

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61537 (Henry, IL) and ZIP 61565 (Sparland, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61537 has a population of 2,974 at 20 people per square mile, while ZIP 61565 has 1,504 at 9 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 61537 reports a median household income of $67,404 against $77,578 in ZIP 61565, with per-capita income of $35,933 vs $41,299. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.0% in 61537 and 24.0% in 61565. Poverty rate reads 14.7% vs 8.7%, and unemployment 2.5% 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 $118,200 in 61537 versus $157,200 in 61565, with median rent of $685 and $679 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.3% vs 87.2%. 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.