ZIP 61924 vs ZIP 61870

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61924 (Chrisman, IL) and ZIP 61870 (Ridge Farm, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61924 has a population of 2,449 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 61870 has 1,327 at 12 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 61924 reports a median household income of $76,641 against $54,044 in ZIP 61870, with per-capita income of $33,863 vs $27,300. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.8% in 61924 and 12.3% in 61870. Poverty rate reads 14.7% vs 7.8%, and unemployment 2.9% vs 8.0% — 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 $106,700 in 61924 versus $74,800 in 61870, with median rent of $737 and $690 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.8% vs 77.1%. 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.