ZIP 61878 vs ZIP 61866

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