ZIP 62618 vs ZIP 62691

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62618 (Beardstown, IL) and ZIP 62691 (Virginia, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62618 has a population of 7,955 at 36 people per square mile, while ZIP 62691 has 2,426 at 9 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 62618 reports a median household income of $65,208 against $78,798 in ZIP 62691, with per-capita income of $29,769 vs $38,463. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.3% in 62618 and 19.6% in 62691. Poverty rate reads 13.3% vs 9.9%, and unemployment 4.4% vs 3.2% - 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 $89,100 in 62618 versus $115,200 in 62691, with median rent of $752 and $704 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.2% vs 76.1%. 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.