ZIP 61730 vs ZIP 61737

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61730 (Cooksville, IL) and ZIP 61737 (Ellsworth, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61730 has a population of 379 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 61737 has 516 at 6 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 61730 reports a median household income of $76,719 against $83,750 in ZIP 61737, with per-capita income of $38,780 vs $43,164. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.9% in 61730 and 27.4% in 61737. Poverty rate reads 15.4% vs 8.9%, and unemployment 3.3% vs 1.3% — 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 $160,600 in 61730 versus $178,800 in 61737, with median rent of $935 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.5% vs 94.4%. 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.