ZIP 62629 vs ZIP 62711

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62629 (Chatham, IL) and ZIP 62711 (Springfield, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62629 has a population of 12,949 at 132 people per square mile, while ZIP 62711 has 15,347 at 193 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 62629 reports a median household income of $107,250 against $124,816 in ZIP 62711, with per-capita income of $47,650 vs $74,341. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 53.8% in 62629 and 59.0% in 62711. Poverty rate reads 3.1% vs 3.1%, and unemployment 3.4% vs 2.8% — 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 $243,800 in 62629 versus $316,800 in 62711, with median rent of $1,256 and $1,337 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.6% vs 78.8%. 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.