ZIP 61814 vs ZIP 47982

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61814 (Bismarck, IL) and ZIP 47982 (State Line, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61814 has a population of 1,157 at 21 people per square mile, while ZIP 47982 has 143 at 397 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 61814 reports a median household income of $59,408 against $73,750 in ZIP 47982, with per-capita income of $37,359 vs $26,152. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.3% in 61814 and 9.4% in 47982. Poverty rate reads 7.3% vs 17.5%, and unemployment 7.0% vs 2.0% — 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 $111,200 in 61814 versus $86,400 in 47982, with median rent of $883 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.3% vs 92.1%. 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.