ZIP 61910 vs ZIP 61953

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61910 (Arcola, IL) and ZIP 61953 (Tuscola, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61910 has a population of 4,463 at 17 people per square mile, while ZIP 61953 has 6,216 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 61910 reports a median household income of $88,538 against $78,214 in ZIP 61953, with per-capita income of $31,230 vs $40,038. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.7% in 61910 and 23.6% in 61953. Poverty rate reads 11.4% vs 6.2%, and unemployment 4.2% vs 0.8% — 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 $143,200 in 61910 versus $164,400 in 61953, with median rent of $710 and $885 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.1% vs 76.4%. 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.