ZIP 62948 vs ZIP 62933

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62948 (Herrin, IL) and ZIP 62933 (Energy, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62948 has a population of 12,865 at 265 people per square mile, while ZIP 62933 has 1,230 at 330 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 62948 reports a median household income of $60,975 against $67,794 in ZIP 62933, with per-capita income of $35,816 vs $36,297. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.6% in 62948 and 23.1% in 62933. Poverty rate reads 13.9% vs 14.5%, and unemployment 6.1% vs 4.6% - 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 $116,700 in 62948 versus $156,100 in 62933, with median rent of $1,000 and $725 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 66.3% vs 80.4%. 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.