ZIP 62537 vs ZIP 62551

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62537 (Harristown, IL) and ZIP 62551 (Niantic, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62537 has a population of 92 at 38 people per square mile, while ZIP 62551 has 837 at 12 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 62537 reports a median household income of $70,455 against $69,583 in ZIP 62551, with per-capita income of $23,062 vs $34,708. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 6.0% in 62537 and 14.1% in 62551. Poverty rate reads 1.5% vs 7.8%, and unemployment 7.2% vs 10.4% — 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 $87,500 in 62537 versus $129,200 in 62551, with median rent of — and $846 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 100.0% vs 84.1%. 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.