ZIP 62823 vs ZIP 62842

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62823 (Cisne, IL) and ZIP 62842 (Geff, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62823 has a population of 1,691 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 62842 has 835 at 7 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 62823 reports a median household income of $59,310 against $73,424 in ZIP 62842, with per-capita income of $30,237 vs $36,472. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.4% in 62823 and 25.8% in 62842. Poverty rate reads 20.8% vs 6.6%, and unemployment 2.3% vs 6.6% — 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 $119,100 in 62823 versus $116,500 in 62842, with median rent of $669 and $813 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.0% vs 88.5%. 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.