ZIP 61544 vs ZIP 61432

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61544 (London Mills, IL) and ZIP 61432 (Fairview, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61544 has a population of 713 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 61432 has 676 at 7 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 61544 reports a median household income of $81,250 against $56,250 in ZIP 61432, with per-capita income of $36,407 vs $33,569. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.6% in 61544 and 12.5% in 61432. Poverty rate reads 18.9% vs 13.1%, and unemployment 5.3% vs 5.9% — 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 61544 versus $98,900 in 61432, with median rent of $850 and $706 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.3% vs 88.7%. 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.