ZIP 62264 vs ZIP 62248

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62264 (New Athens, IL) and ZIP 62248 (Hecker, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62264 has a population of 3,338 at 20 people per square mile, while ZIP 62248 has 320 at 695 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 62264 reports a median household income of $57,015 against $79,583 in ZIP 62248, with per-capita income of $31,595 vs $35,150. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.7% in 62264 and 19.9% in 62248. Poverty rate reads 9.1% vs 2.4%, and unemployment 2.7% vs 5.1% — 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 $127,400 in 62264 versus $166,800 in 62248, with median rent of $887 and $1,014 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.2% vs 75.8%. 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.