ZIP 61550 vs ZIP 61535

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