ZIP 61817 vs ZIP 61883

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61817 (Catlin, IL) and ZIP 61883 (Westville, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61817 has a population of 2,583 at 36 people per square mile, while ZIP 61883 has 4,438 at 81 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 61817 reports a median household income of $80,375 against $56,169 in ZIP 61883, with per-capita income of $37,042 vs $30,730. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.6% in 61817 and 19.1% in 61883. Poverty rate reads 4.7% vs 17.7%, and unemployment 1.1% vs 7.7% — 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 $131,100 in 61817 versus $101,400 in 61883, with median rent of $899 and $814 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.7% vs 76.2%. 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.