ZIP 61955 vs ZIP 61944

This side-by-side compares ZIP 61955 (Vermilion, IL) and ZIP 61944 (Paris, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 61955 has a population of 157 at 243 people per square mile, while ZIP 61944 has 12,908 at 19 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 61955 reports a median household income of $49,167 against $56,383 in ZIP 61944, with per-capita income of $25,537 vs $35,662. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 9.3% in 61955 and 21.6% in 61944. Poverty rate reads 7.9% vs 10.8%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 4.3% — 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 $75,000 in 61955 versus $99,500 in 61944, with median rent of $1,175 and $786 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.1% vs 71.2%. 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.