ZIP 62896 vs ZIP 62812

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62896 (West Frankfort, 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 62896 has a population of 12,626 at 76 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 62896 reports a median household income of $55,458 against $60,539 in ZIP 62812, with per-capita income of $29,640 vs $32,732. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.4% in 62896 and 18.6% in 62812. Poverty rate reads 23.4% vs 14.3%, and unemployment 11.2% 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 $88,900 in 62896 versus $101,100 in 62812, with median rent of $681 and $843 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.4% 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.