ZIP 62316 vs ZIP 62339

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62316 (Bowen, IL) and ZIP 62339 (Golden, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62316 has a population of 660 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 62339 has 874 at 10 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 62316 reports a median household income of $61,094 against $62,422 in ZIP 62339, with per-capita income of $27,421 vs $57,367. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.5% in 62316 and 28.8% in 62339. Poverty rate reads 8.5% vs 4.5%, and unemployment 5.9% vs 1.9% — 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 $84,000 in 62316 versus $125,700 in 62339, with median rent of $405 and $760 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.6% vs 77.9%. 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.