ZIP 62336 vs ZIP 62321

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62336 (Ferris, IL) and ZIP 62321 (Carthage, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62336 has a population of 47 at 307 people per square mile, while ZIP 62321 has 4,091 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 62336 reports a median household income of $43,125 against $76,825 in ZIP 62321, with per-capita income of $49,704 vs $39,795. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 1.4% in 62336 and 31.3% in 62321. Poverty rate reads 16.7% vs 7.3%, and unemployment 6.9% 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 $77,100 in 62336 versus $123,700 in 62321, with median rent of — and $678 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 97.7% vs 77.5%. 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.