ZIP 62298 vs ZIP 62236

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62298 (Waterloo, IL) and ZIP 62236 (Columbia, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62298 has a population of 16,609 at 45 people per square mile, while ZIP 62236 has 12,562 at 89 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 62298 reports a median household income of $101,155 against $108,981 in ZIP 62236, with per-capita income of $48,901 vs $51,278. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 36.2% in 62298 and 46.7% in 62236. Poverty rate reads 4.9% vs 5.6%, and unemployment 2.0% vs 2.2% - 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 $290,200 in 62298 versus $306,600 in 62236, with median rent of $890 and $1,128 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.3% vs 85.3%. 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.