ZIP 62298 vs ZIP 62244

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62298 (Waterloo, IL) and ZIP 62244 (Fults, 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 62244 has 1,156 at 9 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 $107,917 in ZIP 62244, with per-capita income of $48,901 vs $44,983. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 36.2% in 62298 and 25.8% in 62244. Poverty rate reads 4.9% vs 6.5%, and unemployment 2.0% vs 5.9% — 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 $252,400 in 62244, with median rent of $890 and $1,098 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.3% vs 77.0%. 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.