ZIP 62860 vs ZIP 62836

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62860 (Macedonia, IL) and ZIP 62836 (Ewing, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62860 has a population of 524 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 62836 has 801 at 8 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 62860 reports a median household income of $80,288 against $73,281 in ZIP 62836, with per-capita income of $30,949 vs $33,555. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 9.5% in 62860 and 19.9% in 62836. Poverty rate reads 41.4% vs 15.3%, and unemployment 7.5% vs 1.6% — 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 $120,100 in 62860 versus $123,900 in 62836, with median rent of $614 and $1,042 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.2% vs 88.1%. 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.