ZIP 62461 vs ZIP 62444

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62461 (Shumway, IL) and ZIP 62444 (Mode, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62461 has a population of 854 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 62444 has 387 at 5 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 62461 reports a median household income of $74,350 against $62,358 in ZIP 62444, with per-capita income of $37,883 vs $24,438. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.4% in 62461 and 16.2% in 62444. Poverty rate reads 10.2% vs 11.7%, and unemployment 2.7% 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 $156,400 in 62461 versus $119,600 in 62444, with median rent of $850 and - per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.7% vs 100.0%. 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.