ZIP 61741 vs ZIP 61769

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61741 (Forrest, IL) and ZIP 61769 (Saunemin, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61741 has a population of 1,746 at 12 people per square mile, while ZIP 61769 has 619 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 61741 reports a median household income of $87,850 against $59,886 in ZIP 61769, with per-capita income of $38,048 vs $32,523. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.7% in 61741 and 21.4% in 61769. Poverty rate reads 7.4% vs 9.7%, and unemployment 1.3% vs 7.0% — 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 $167,700 in 61741 versus $125,800 in 61769, with median rent of $723 and $1,375 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.2% vs 95.5%. 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.