ZIP 61866 vs ZIP 61878

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61866 (Rantoul, IL) and ZIP 61878 (Thomasboro, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61866 has a population of 14,048 at 68 people per square mile, while ZIP 61878 has 1,433 at 20 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 61866 reports a median household income of $50,686 against $66,250 in ZIP 61878, with per-capita income of $29,482 vs $46,649. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.7% in 61866 and 16.8% in 61878. Poverty rate reads 15.9% vs 11.6%, and unemployment 3.2% vs 1.8% — 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 $121,300 in 61866 versus $118,700 in 61878, with median rent of $884 and $808 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 57.1% vs 79.4%. 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.