ZIP 62994 vs ZIP 62927

This side-by-side compares ZIP 62994 (Vergennes, IL) and ZIP 62927 (Dowell, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 62994 has a population of 755 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 62927 has 367 at 323 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 62994 reports a median household income of $64,773 against $54,792 in ZIP 62927, with per-capita income of $30,358 vs $23,079. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.3% in 62994 and 11.3% in 62927. Poverty rate reads 5.1% vs 19.7%, and unemployment 10.0% vs 12.5% — 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 $109,700 in 62994 versus $52,000 in 62927, with median rent of $950 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.0% vs 91.5%. 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.