ZIP 62924 vs ZIP 62949

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62924 (De Soto, IL) and ZIP 62949 (Hurst, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62924 has a population of 2,809 at 26 people per square mile, while ZIP 62949 has 810 at 202 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 62924 reports a median household income of $70,357 against $37,308 in ZIP 62949, with per-capita income of $30,958 vs $27,679. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.4% in 62924 and 16.1% in 62949. Poverty rate reads 10.5% vs 31.3%, and unemployment 6.4% vs 4.1% — 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 $103,000 in 62924 versus $74,500 in 62949, with median rent of $920 and $382 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 59.0% vs 54.0%. 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.