ZIP 62987 vs ZIP 62917

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62987 (Stonefort, IL) and ZIP 62917 (Carrier Mills, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62987 has a population of 1,174 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 62917 has 2,305 at 28 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 62987 reports a median household income of $83,393 against $50,119 in ZIP 62917, with per-capita income of $33,536 vs $44,092. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.7% in 62987 and 11.2% in 62917. Poverty rate reads 7.1% vs 20.5%, and unemployment 4.6% vs 4.3% — 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 $112,600 in 62987 versus $73,400 in 62917, with median rent of $766 and $525 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.2% vs 78.3%. 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.