ZIP 62856 vs ZIP 62812

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62856 (Logan, IL) and ZIP 62812 (Benton, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62856 has a population of 324 at 135 people per square mile, while ZIP 62812 has 11,265 at 46 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 62856 reports a median household income of $60,750 against $60,539 in ZIP 62812, with per-capita income of $29,139 vs $32,732. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 3.7% in 62856 and 18.6% in 62812. Poverty rate reads 12.3% vs 14.3%, and unemployment 4.1% vs 4.3% — 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 $54,500 in 62856 versus $101,100 in 62812, with median rent of — and $843 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.5% vs 69.7%. 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.