ZIP 62294 vs ZIP 62281

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62294 (Troy, IL) and ZIP 62281 (Saint Jacob, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62294 has a population of 14,367 at 180 people per square mile, while ZIP 62281 has 2,155 at 25 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 62294 reports a median household income of $120,466 against $132,000 in ZIP 62281, with per-capita income of $50,476 vs $50,292. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 47.1% in 62294 and 39.6% in 62281. Poverty rate reads 1.7% vs 2.3%, and unemployment 3.2% vs 1.3% — 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 $276,300 in 62294 versus $308,900 in 62281, with median rent of $1,125 and $1,191 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.1% vs 91.0%. 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.