ZIP 62984 vs ZIP 62979

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62984 (Shawneetown, IL) and ZIP 62979 (Ridgway, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62984 has a population of 1,841 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 62979 has 1,230 at 6 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 62984 reports a median household income of $50,288 against $50,625 in ZIP 62979, with per-capita income of $30,981 vs $49,341. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.3% in 62984 and 18.8% in 62979. Poverty rate reads 20.5% vs 8.0%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 3.8% — 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 $87,800 in 62984 versus $84,900 in 62979, with median rent of $447 and $667 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.6% vs 82.5%. 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.