ZIP 61858 vs ZIP 61857

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61858 (Oakwood, IL) and ZIP 61857 (Muncie, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61858 has a population of 3,124 at 42 people per square mile, while ZIP 61857 has 153 at 245 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 61858 reports a median household income of $56,415 against $83,750 in ZIP 61857, with per-capita income of $32,183 vs $39,708. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.9% in 61858 and 22.0% in 61857. Poverty rate reads 17.8% vs 4.9%, and unemployment 1.7% vs 4.3% — 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 $125,500 in 61858 versus $76,500 in 61857, with median rent of $763 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.6% vs 91.3%. 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.