ZIP 62255 vs ZIP 62257

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62255 (Lenzburg, IL) and ZIP 62257 (Marissa, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62255 has a population of 1,001 at 15 people per square mile, while ZIP 62257 has 3,214 at 17 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 62255 reports a median household income of $80,506 against $78,750 in ZIP 62257, with per-capita income of $33,858 vs $36,823. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 7.0% in 62255 and 13.5% in 62257. Poverty rate reads 14.7% vs 8.6%, and unemployment 2.2% vs 8.6% — 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 $160,800 in 62255 versus $138,100 in 62257, with median rent of $669 and $713 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.9% vs 81.0%. 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.