ZIP 62338 vs ZIP 62359

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62338 (Fowler, IL) and ZIP 62359 (Paloma, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62338 has a population of 1,473 at 16 people per square mile, while ZIP 62359 has 166 at 16 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 62338 reports a median household income of $91,473 against $51,413 in ZIP 62359, with per-capita income of $50,792 vs $13,434. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.0% in 62338 and 25.6% in 62359. Poverty rate reads 1.1% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 2.2% vs 45.8% — 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 $226,800 in 62338 versus — in 62359, with median rent of — and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 95.9% vs 47.7%. 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.