ZIP 61778 vs ZIP 61749

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61778 (Waynesville, IL) and ZIP 61749 (Kenney, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61778 has a population of 683 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 61749 has 556 at 7 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 61778 reports a median household income of $59,868 against $70,667 in ZIP 61749, with per-capita income of $37,506 vs $38,478. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.6% in 61778 and 20.3% in 61749. Poverty rate reads 26.4% vs 6.4%, and unemployment 8.7% vs 4.6% — 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 $114,600 in 61778 versus $112,900 in 61749, with median rent of $670 and $825 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.0% vs 94.6%. 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.