ZIP 62201 vs ZIP 62059

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62201 (East Saint Louis, IL) and ZIP 62059 (Lovejoy, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62201 has a population of 7,547 at 193 people per square mile, while ZIP 62059 has 746 at 1,088 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 62201 reports a median household income of $27,437 against $30,673 in ZIP 62059, with per-capita income of $20,212 vs $24,036. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.6% in 62201 and 27.4% in 62059. Poverty rate reads 39.7% vs 44.3%, and unemployment 1.7% vs 13.5% — 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 $60,000 in 62201 versus $37,500 in 62059, with median rent of $713 and $904 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 51.2% vs 44.6%. 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.