ZIP 62448 vs ZIP 62479

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62448 (Newton, IL) and ZIP 62479 (Wheeler, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62448 has a population of 5,834 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 62479 has 820 at 6 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 62448 reports a median household income of $74,179 against $57,292 in ZIP 62479, with per-capita income of $37,207 vs $30,539. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.0% in 62448 and 13.1% in 62479. Poverty rate reads 9.4% vs 9.7%, and unemployment 3.6% vs 8.4% — 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 $126,600 in 62448 versus $173,800 in 62479, with median rent of $778 and $921 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.3% vs 76.4%. 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.