ZIP 62009 vs ZIP 62085

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62009 (Benld, IL) and ZIP 62085 (Sawyerville, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62009 has a population of 1,810 at 186 people per square mile, while ZIP 62085 has 209 at 102 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 62009 reports a median household income of $45,217 against $70,000 in ZIP 62085, with per-capita income of $37,438 vs $36,645. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.2% in 62009 and 17.3% in 62085. Poverty rate reads 16.2% vs 7.8%, and unemployment 7.2% vs 0.0% — 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 $85,100 in 62009 versus $85,000 in 62085, with median rent of $813 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.0% vs 98.8%. 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.