ZIP 62314 vs ZIP 62357

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62314 (Baylis, IL) and ZIP 62357 (New Salem, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62314 has a population of 611 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 62357 has 245 at 5 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 62314 reports a median household income of $75,556 against $81,000 in ZIP 62357, with per-capita income of $41,431 vs $66,222. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.9% in 62314 and 30.8% in 62357. Poverty rate reads 5.7% vs 17.2%, and unemployment 12.5% vs 3.6% — 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 $160,000 in 62314 versus $113,800 in 62357, with median rent of $744 and $732 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 66.4% vs 68.1%. 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.