ZIP 61831 vs ZIP 61865

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61831 (Collison, IL) and ZIP 61865 (Potomac, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61831 has a population of 157 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 61865 has 1,391 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 61831 reports a median household income of $103,750 against $66,786 in ZIP 61865, with per-capita income of $54,856 vs $40,056. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.9% in 61831 and 16.4% in 61865. Poverty rate reads 3.1% vs 6.9%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 4.1% — 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 $180,000 in 61831 versus $118,500 in 61865, with median rent of — and $773 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 100.0% vs 81.0%. 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.