ZIP 62821 vs ZIP 62869

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62821 (Carmi, IL) and ZIP 62869 (Norris City, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62821 has a population of 7,657 at 17 people per square mile, while ZIP 62869 has 2,682 at 12 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 62821 reports a median household income of $55,367 against $62,159 in ZIP 62869, with per-capita income of $33,742 vs $28,232. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.5% in 62821 and 18.5% in 62869. Poverty rate reads 17.6% vs 10.5%, and unemployment 2.4% vs 5.9% — 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 $116,300 in 62821 versus $119,500 in 62869, with median rent of $820 and $603 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.8% vs 77.7%. 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.