ZIP 62443 vs ZIP 62426

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62443 (Mason, IL) and ZIP 62426 (Edgewood, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62443 has a population of 1,623 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 62426 has 1,085 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 62443 reports a median household income of $86,950 against $51,667 in ZIP 62426, with per-capita income of $34,347 vs $34,925. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 9.1% in 62443 and 10.1% in 62426. Poverty rate reads 13.4% vs 8.2%, and unemployment 3.7% vs 6.5% — 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 $172,000 in 62443 versus $95,600 in 62426, with median rent of $911 and $566 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 92.4% vs 92.7%. 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.