ZIP 62089 vs ZIP 62049

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62089 (Taylor Springs, IL) and ZIP 62049 (Hillsboro, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62089 has a population of 489 at 248 people per square mile, while ZIP 62049 has 8,470 at 39 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 62089 reports a median household income of $45,543 against $55,446 in ZIP 62049, with per-capita income of $32,804 vs $28,630. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 8.5% in 62089 and 14.8% in 62049. Poverty rate reads 15.7% vs 10.7%, and unemployment 6.9% vs 2.6% — 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 $68,300 in 62089 versus $127,600 in 62049, with median rent of $593 and $731 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.8% vs 79.4%. 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.