ZIP 62865 vs ZIP 62822

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62865 (Mulkeytown, IL) and ZIP 62822 (Christopher, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62865 has a population of 2,018 at 14 people per square mile, while ZIP 62822 has 2,574 at 369 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 62865 reports a median household income of $67,798 against $47,770 in ZIP 62822, with per-capita income of $45,935 vs $27,713. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.4% in 62865 and 14.3% in 62822. Poverty rate reads 5.0% vs 20.6%, and unemployment 6.2% vs 6.7% — 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 $153,200 in 62865 versus $67,600 in 62822, with median rent of $1,039 and $725 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.0% vs 72.5%. 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.