ZIP 62047 vs ZIP 62036

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62047 (Hardin, IL) and ZIP 62036 (Golden Eagle, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62047 has a population of 1,555 at 17 people per square mile, while ZIP 62036 has 704 at 10 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 62047 reports a median household income of $116,250 against $103,409 in ZIP 62036, with per-capita income of $40,244 vs $36,635. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.0% in 62047 and 23.0% in 62036. Poverty rate reads 5.8% vs 2.3%, and unemployment 0.7% vs 11.4% — 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 $179,000 in 62047 versus $229,400 in 62036, with median rent of $476 and $563 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.0% vs 90.6%. 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.