ZIP 61920 vs ZIP 61938

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61920 (Charleston, IL) and ZIP 61938 (Mattoon, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61920 has a population of 25,594 at 66 people per square mile, while ZIP 61938 has 22,409 at 69 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 61920 reports a median household income of $52,429 against $57,503 in ZIP 61938, with per-capita income of $33,403 vs $33,570. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 34.9% in 61920 and 22.7% in 61938. Poverty rate reads 21.7% vs 17.7%, and unemployment 5.7% vs 6.6% — 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 $149,200 in 61920 versus $111,700 in 61938, with median rent of $812 and $740 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 53.3% vs 61.2%. 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.