ZIP 62940 vs ZIP 62942

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62940 (Gorham, IL) and ZIP 62942 (Grand Tower, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62940 has a population of 445 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 62942 has 707 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 62940 reports a median household income of $64,375 against $36,458 in ZIP 62942, with per-capita income of $21,469 vs $24,753. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.0% in 62940 and 1.7% in 62942. Poverty rate reads 8.4% vs 32.0%, and unemployment 13.6% vs 5.4% — 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 $29,400 in 62940 versus $51,600 in 62942, with median rent of $722 and $682 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 62.6% vs 67.1%. 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.