ZIP 61944 vs ZIP 61924

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61944 (Paris, IL) and ZIP 61924 (Chrisman, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61944 has a population of 12,908 at 19 people per square mile, while ZIP 61924 has 2,449 at 7 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 61944 reports a median household income of $56,383 against $76,641 in ZIP 61924, with per-capita income of $35,662 vs $33,863. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.6% in 61944 and 22.8% in 61924. Poverty rate reads 10.8% vs 14.7%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 2.9% — 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 $99,500 in 61944 versus $106,700 in 61924, with median rent of $786 and $737 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.2% vs 72.8%. 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.