ZIP 61565 vs ZIP 61537

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