ZIP 62807 vs ZIP 62881

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62807 (Alma, 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 62807 has a population of 961 at 8 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 62807 reports a median household income of $82,321 against $71,270 in ZIP 62881, with per-capita income of $42,184 vs $39,042. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 30.9% in 62807 and 17.8% in 62881. Poverty rate reads 5.4% vs 11.8%, and unemployment 0.5% 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 $158,500 in 62807 versus $115,200 in 62881, with median rent of $534 and $778 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.5% 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.