ZIP 61953 vs ZIP 61911

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61953 (Tuscola, IL) and ZIP 61911 (Arthur, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61953 has a population of 6,216 at 20 people per square mile, while ZIP 61911 has 4,860 at 30 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 61953 reports a median household income of $78,214 against $82,633 in ZIP 61911, with per-capita income of $40,038 vs $34,534. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.6% in 61953 and 16.6% in 61911. Poverty rate reads 6.2% vs 16.5%, and unemployment 0.8% 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 $164,400 in 61953 versus $171,600 in 61911, with median rent of $885 and $792 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.4% vs 70.5%. 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.