ZIP 62565 vs ZIP 62534

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62565 (Shelbyville, IL) and ZIP 62534 (Findlay, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62565 has a population of 7,538 at 24 people per square mile, while ZIP 62534 has 1,130 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 62565 reports a median household income of $66,498 against $68,750 in ZIP 62534, with per-capita income of $32,294 vs $34,572. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.2% in 62565 and 18.4% in 62534. Poverty rate reads 11.0% vs 16.0%, and unemployment 3.2% vs 1.0% — 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 $137,600 in 62565 versus $125,200 in 62534, with median rent of $805 and $883 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.2% vs 87.7%. 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.