ZIP 62440 vs ZIP 62469

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62440 (Lerna, IL) and ZIP 62469 (Trilla, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62440 has a population of 1,316 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 62469 has 419 at 7 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 62440 reports a median household income of $79,605 against $116,440 in ZIP 62469, with per-capita income of $42,587 vs $36,276. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.5% in 62440 and 21.6% in 62469. Poverty rate reads 6.3% vs 0.0%, and unemployment 2.4% vs 0.0% — 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 $128,000 in 62440 versus $154,200 in 62469, with median rent of $850 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 95.8% vs 61.6%. 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.