ZIP 62988 vs ZIP 62976

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62988 (Tamms, IL) and ZIP 62976 (Pulaski, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62988 has a population of 2,110 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 62976 has 469 at 7 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 62988 reports a median household income of $54,779 against $40,139 in ZIP 62976, with per-capita income of $31,558 vs $23,376. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.3% in 62988 and 18.4% in 62976. Poverty rate reads 16.7% vs 26.5%, and unemployment 1.4% vs 0.0% — 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 $65,800 in 62988 versus $101,200 in 62976, with median rent of $493 and $672 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.9% vs 57.1%. 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.