ZIP 62243 vs ZIP 62221

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62243 (Freeburg, IL) and ZIP 62221 (Belleville, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62243 has a population of 5,910 at 43 people per square mile, while ZIP 62221 has 27,858 at 313 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 62243 reports a median household income of $103,342 against $82,271 in ZIP 62221, with per-capita income of $46,679 vs $41,109. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 33.3% in 62243 and 38.4% in 62221. Poverty rate reads 4.9% vs 10.5%, and unemployment 5.6% vs 2.8% — 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 $279,500 in 62243 versus $217,500 in 62221, with median rent of $1,079 and $1,152 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.0% vs 65.2%. 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.