ZIP 62217 vs ZIP 62297

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62217 (Baldwin, IL) and ZIP 62297 (Walsh, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62217 has a population of 807 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 62297 has 452 at 7 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 62217 reports a median household income of $84,615 against $90,938 in ZIP 62297, with per-capita income of $34,621 vs $47,756. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 6.4% in 62217 and 4.0% in 62297. Poverty rate reads 13.8% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 15.2% 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 $146,300 in 62217 versus $120,800 in 62297, with median rent of $871 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.6% vs 79.7%. 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.