ZIP 62233 vs ZIP 62278

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62233 (Chester, IL) and ZIP 62278 (Red Bud, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62233 has a population of 10,037 at 59 people per square mile, while ZIP 62278 has 6,690 at 25 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 62233 reports a median household income of $84,556 against $79,688 in ZIP 62278, with per-capita income of $26,412 vs $41,362. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.0% in 62233 and 23.2% in 62278. Poverty rate reads 19.1% vs 6.2%, and unemployment 4.4% vs 1.8% - 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 $120,500 in 62233 versus $178,300 in 62278, with median rent of $760 and $875 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.0% 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.