ZIP 62965 vs ZIP 62946

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62965 (Muddy, IL) and ZIP 62946 (Harrisburg, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62965 has a population of 125 at 76 people per square mile, while ZIP 62946 has 12,930 at 36 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 62965 reports a median household income of — against $51,566 in ZIP 62946, with per-capita income of $29,073 vs $32,233. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.8% in 62965 and 20.5% in 62946. Poverty rate reads 40.5% vs 23.2%, and unemployment 28.6% vs 8.1% — 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 — in 62965 versus $97,300 in 62946, with median rent of $531 and $777 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 68.6% vs 68.6%. 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.