ZIP 62479 vs ZIP 62445

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62479 (Wheeler, IL) and ZIP 62445 (Montrose, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62479 has a population of 820 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 62445 has 907 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 62479 reports a median household income of $57,292 against $81,484 in ZIP 62445, with per-capita income of $30,539 vs $33,543. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.1% in 62479 and 9.6% in 62445. Poverty rate reads 9.7% vs 5.2%, and unemployment 8.4% vs 0.3% — 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 $173,800 in 62479 versus $184,100 in 62445, with median rent of $921 and $392 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.4% vs 93.4%. 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.