ZIP 62881 vs ZIP 62807

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62881 (Salem, IL) and ZIP 62807 (Alma, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62881 has a population of 11,385 at 44 people per square mile, while ZIP 62807 has 961 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 62881 reports a median household income of $71,270 against $82,321 in ZIP 62807, with per-capita income of $39,042 vs $42,184. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.8% in 62881 and 30.9% in 62807. Poverty rate reads 11.8% vs 5.4%, and unemployment 2.6% vs 0.5% — 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 $115,200 in 62881 versus $158,500 in 62807, with median rent of $778 and $534 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.5% 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.