ZIP 62236 vs ZIP 62240

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62236 (Columbia, IL) and ZIP 62240 (East Carondelet, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62236 has a population of 12,562 at 89 people per square mile, while ZIP 62240 has 1,966 at 47 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 62236 reports a median household income of $108,981 against $96,063 in ZIP 62240, with per-capita income of $51,278 vs $28,220. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 46.7% in 62236 and 11.0% in 62240. Poverty rate reads 5.6% vs 5.5%, and unemployment 2.2% vs 18.0% — 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 $306,600 in 62236 versus $89,400 in 62240, with median rent of $1,128 and $1,063 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.3% vs 87.9%. 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.