ZIP 62204 vs ZIP 62203

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62204 (East Saint Louis, IL) and ZIP 62203 (East Saint Louis, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62204 has a population of 7,960 at 549 people per square mile, while ZIP 62203 has 8,209 at 477 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 62204 reports a median household income of $35,346 against $42,111 in ZIP 62203, with per-capita income of $19,433 vs $25,390. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.5% in 62204 and 15.3% in 62203. Poverty rate reads 27.3% vs 24.3%, and unemployment 17.2% vs 15.4% — 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 $47,800 in 62204 versus $68,700 in 62203, with median rent of $831 and $1,050 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.1% vs 66.6%. 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.