ZIP 61777 vs ZIP 61745

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61777 (Wapella, IL) and ZIP 61745 (Heyworth, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61777 has a population of 952 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 61745 has 4,408 at 22 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 61777 reports a median household income of $90,250 against $107,835 in ZIP 61745, with per-capita income of $40,851 vs $43,625. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.7% in 61777 and 33.4% in 61745. Poverty rate reads 1.9% vs 6.8%, and unemployment 1.0% vs 4.2% — 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 $139,900 in 61777 versus $228,400 in 61745, with median rent of $782 and $967 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.6% vs 85.9%. 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.