ZIP 61554 vs ZIP 61611

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61554 (Pekin, IL) and ZIP 61611 (East Peoria, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61554 has a population of 43,810 at 243 people per square mile, while ZIP 61611 has 25,268 at 238 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 61554 reports a median household income of $65,194 against $78,750 in ZIP 61611, with per-capita income of $36,242 vs $40,104. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.1% in 61554 and 25.0% in 61611. Poverty rate reads 11.8% vs 10.4%, and unemployment 5.5% vs 3.0% — 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 $127,600 in 61554 versus $164,800 in 61611, with median rent of $836 and $939 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.9% vs 79.6%. 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.