ZIP 62626 vs ZIP 62033

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62626 (Carlinville, IL) and ZIP 62033 (Gillespie, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62626 has a population of 8,354 at 19 people per square mile, while ZIP 62033 has 4,894 at 38 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 62626 reports a median household income of $70,781 against $78,286 in ZIP 62033, with per-capita income of $37,509 vs $38,004. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.5% in 62626 and 19.0% in 62033. Poverty rate reads 16.3% vs 15.1%, and unemployment 2.1% vs 4.1% — 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 $147,500 in 62626 versus $106,200 in 62033, with median rent of $824 and $788 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.2% vs 75.0%. 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.