ZIP 62801 vs ZIP 62881

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62801 (Centralia, IL) and ZIP 62881 (Salem, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62801 has a population of 22,415 at 63 people per square mile, while ZIP 62881 has 11,385 at 44 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 62801 reports a median household income of $52,017 against $71,270 in ZIP 62881, with per-capita income of $27,772 vs $39,042. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.3% in 62801 and 17.8% in 62881. Poverty rate reads 20.2% vs 11.8%, and unemployment 9.4% vs 2.6% — 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 $94,800 in 62801 versus $115,200 in 62881, with median rent of $795 and $778 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.2% vs 73.5%. 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.