ZIP 62902 vs ZIP 62958

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62902 (Carbondale, IL) and ZIP 62958 (Makanda, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62902 has a population of 4,531 at 29 people per square mile, while ZIP 62958 has 2,262 at 19 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 62902 reports a median household income of $84,223 against $65,833 in ZIP 62958, with per-capita income of $52,797 vs $41,288. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 46.6% in 62902 and 55.0% in 62958. Poverty rate reads 9.9% vs 11.0%, and unemployment 3.9% vs 2.4% — 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 $207,800 in 62902 versus $152,100 in 62958, with median rent of $927 and $907 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.1% vs 72.3%. 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.