ZIP 62979 vs ZIP 62871

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62979 (Ridgway, IL) and ZIP 62871 (Omaha, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62979 has a population of 1,230 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 62871 has 686 at 5 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 62979 reports a median household income of $50,625 against $107,750 in ZIP 62871, with per-capita income of $49,341 vs $32,997. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.8% in 62979 and 18.2% in 62871. Poverty rate reads 8.0% vs 4.3%, and unemployment 3.8% vs 11.0% — 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 $84,900 in 62979 versus $80,500 in 62871, with median rent of $667 and $1,326 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.5% vs 87.2%. 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.