ZIP 61776 vs ZIP 61761

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61776 (Towanda, IL) and ZIP 61761 (Normal, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61776 has a population of 1,409 at 12 people per square mile, while ZIP 61761 has 52,879 at 481 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 61776 reports a median household income of $119,625 against $65,275 in ZIP 61761, with per-capita income of $54,644 vs $36,703. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 53.0% in 61776 and 52.9% in 61761. Poverty rate reads 3.3% vs 21.2%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 3.9% — 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 $211,300 in 61776 versus $214,600 in 61761, with median rent of $1,000 and $966 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 93.8% vs 55.0%. 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.