ZIP 62233 vs ZIP 62297

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62233 (Chester, 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 62233 has a population of 10,037 at 59 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 62233 reports a median household income of $84,556 against $90,938 in ZIP 62297, with per-capita income of $26,412 vs $47,756. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.0% in 62233 and 4.0% in 62297. Poverty rate reads 19.1% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 4.4% 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 $120,500 in 62233 versus $120,800 in 62297, with median rent of $760 and — 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.