ZIP 61605 vs ZIP 61602

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61605 (Peoria, IL) and ZIP 61602 (Peoria, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61605 has a population of 16,303 at 1,519 people per square mile, while ZIP 61602 has 1,055 at 283 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 61605 reports a median household income of $26,392 against $33,750 in ZIP 61602, with per-capita income of $17,393 vs $36,486. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 4.7% in 61605 and 45.3% in 61602. Poverty rate reads 40.2% vs 44.6%, and unemployment 17.0% vs 9.6% — 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 $47,400 in 61605 versus $231,000 in 61602, with median rent of $884 and $965 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 42.5% vs 13.9%. 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.