ZIP 62557 vs ZIP 62553

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62557 (Pana, IL) and ZIP 62553 (Oconee, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62557 has a population of 7,607 at 24 people per square mile, while ZIP 62553 has 437 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 62557 reports a median household income of $51,389 against $92,083 in ZIP 62553, with per-capita income of $33,243 vs $39,572. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.6% in 62557 and 29.0% in 62553. Poverty rate reads 10.3% vs 3.5%, and unemployment 6.4% vs 11.5% — 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 $88,900 in 62557 versus $111,900 in 62553, with median rent of $702 and $850 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.2% vs 94.6%. 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.