GetZips
ZIP Code47871

Riley, IN

Vigo County · Indiana · United States
Home to 479 people across 0.086 square miles.

EasternTop 5% density19 ZIPs in county

At a glance

47871 by the numbers

Every figure below comes from the 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the Census Gazetteer, or is computed from those. Margins of error are shown where they matter.

Population
479
±184 · bottom 25% nationally
Median household income
$72,813
US median $70,109 · 55th pctile
Median home value
$92,700
US median $207,500 · bottom 10%
Median age
34.3
US median 42 years
Population density
5,570/mi²
top 5% most dense
Land area
0.086 mi²
negligible water area

Location

Where 47871 is

39.389709, -87.300219 · Census ZCTA internal pointOpen larger map →
Coordinates39.389709, -87.300219
Time zoneAmerica/Indiana/Indianapolis
CountyVigo County
StateIndiana (IN)
Land area0.086 mi²
Coordinate sourceCensus ZCTA internal point

Local time

America/Indiana/Indianapolis

—:—:—

Current weather

Live from the National Weather Service

Loading forecast…

Distance to major cities

Straight-line, computed from coordinates

Chicago, IL172.8 mi
Atlanta, GA421.8 mi
Philadelphia, PA646.0 mi
Dallas, TX699.2 mi

People

Who lives in 47871

479 residents in 172 households, averaging 2.78 people per household. The largest age group is under 18 at 30.9% of residents.

Age distribution

Share of residents by age band

Under 1830.9%
18-249.8%
25-3410.4%
35-4421.7%
45-5410.6%
55-645.0%
65+11.5%

Households

Composition and size

Total households172
Average household size2.78
Family households56.4%
Living alone33.1%
Median age34.3 years
Households with internet91.3%

Race & ethnicity

Census race categories. Hispanic or Latino origin is asked separately and overlaps these groups.

White97.3%
Two or more2.7%

Income & work

What people earn in 47871

The median household here earns $72,813 a year, above the US median of $70,109, which puts 47871 ahead of 55% of American ZIP codes. 27.2% of residents live below the poverty line.

Compared to the US

This ZIP against the national median

Median household income$72,813
LowestHighest
Higher than 55% of all US ZIP codes.
Median household income$72,813 ±$38,827
Per capita income$22,674
Poverty rate27.2%
Unemployment rate21.4%
Labor force participation65.9%

Household income distribution

Share of households in each bracket

<$25k33.1%
$25-50k8.1%
$50-75k12.8%
$75-100k38.4%
$100-150k7.0%
$150-200k0.0%
$200k+0.6%

Educational attainment among residents 25 and older: 15.5% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 95.4% finished high school.

Housing

Homes and rent in 47871

A typical home is valued at $92,700, and median rent runs $921 a month. This is an owner-majority area — 70.3% of occupied homes are owned, and the typical building went up in 1948.

Costs

Typical values

Median home value$92,700
Median gross rent$921/mo
Median year built1948
Housing units191
Vacancy rate9.9%

Own vs. rent

Of 172 occupied units

Owner-occupied70.3%
Renter-occupied29.7%
Owner households121
Renter households51

Building types

Units by structure size

Single family91.1%
2-4 units4.2%
20+ units4.7%

Getting to work

How 47871 commutes

51.6% of workers drove alone, and the average one-way trip takes 24.6 minutes.

Mode of transport

Workers 16 and older

Drove alone51.6%
Carpooled39.1%
Worked from home1.6%

Travel time

Mean commute 24.6 minutes

<10 min21.5%
10-1938.7%
20-299.4%
30-442.8%
45-5927.6%
60+0.0%

Overview

Understanding ZIP code 47871

ZIP code 47871 is assigned to Riley, IN, and falls within Vigo County. Like every US postal code, it began as a mail-routing device rather than a geographic boundary — the US Postal Service groups delivery routes under a single code so carriers and sorting equipment can process mail efficiently. Today it also serves as a practical shorthand for the area itself: roughly 479 people live inside it.

At 5,570 residents per square mile spread over 0.086 square miles, 47871 reads as a densely built-up area. It is a sparsely populated postal code, and density shapes almost everything else on this page — how people get to work, whether they own or rent, and what housing costs.

Household earnings track close to the national picture. The median of $72,813 puts 47871 near the middle of the pack, ahead of 55% of them. The US median for comparison is $70,109. Bear in mind that median income describes the midpoint household, not the average — it is not pulled upward by a handful of very high earners the way a mean would be.

Living here

What life in Riley looks like

Housing in 47871 costs well below the national median. A typical home is valued at $92,700 against a US median of $207,500, and median gross rent runs $921 a month. Ownership dominates: 70.3% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, which usually signals an established residential area with relatively low turnover.

The building stock is dominated by detached single-family houses, which account for 91.1% of housing units here. The median construction year is 1948, making the housing here mid-century.

The population skews younger than the country as a whole, with a median age of 34.3 against 42 nationally. The average household holds 2.78 people, and 56.4% are family households.

Getting to work takes 24.6 minutes on average one way. The dominant mode is drove alone at 51.6% of workers.

Where to stay

Where to stay in Riley, IN

Riley is a built-up area, so you will generally find a mix of chain hotels near the main approach roads and a smaller number of independent properties closer to the centre. Staying in 47871 itself often costs less than an equivalent room in the nearest downtown while keeping you close to it.

Median rent in 47871 is $921 a month, which sits in the middle of the national range; accommodation pricing locally tends to be similarly mid-market. For reference, Chicago, IL is about 172.8 miles away in a straight line, which is worth factoring in if you are comparing a stay here against one closer to the city centre.

Availability and pricing change constantly, so the live search below will give you a more accurate picture than any figure we could publish here. It opens results for this area on Booking.com.

Book a Hotel →

Opens Booking.com in a new tab. We are not affiliated with Booking.com and receive nothing from this link.

Practical uses

What ZIP code 47871 is used for

Beyond addressing mail, 47871 does a lot of quiet administrative work. Retailers use it to calculate shipping and sales tax at checkout. Insurers use it to set premiums, since risk profiles vary geographically. Employers and marketers use it to define service areas. Government agencies use it to route benefits and organise reporting. If you have ever been asked for a postal code by a form that clearly does not intend to send you anything, this is why.

For anyone weighing a move, 47871 offers a compact profile of Riley: 479 residents, a median household income of $72,813, 15.5% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 21.4%. A handful of figures like these answer more relocation questions than most neighbourhood guides do.

One caution worth repeating: a postal code is not a neighbourhood. 47871 may cover parts of several distinct areas, and a single neighbourhood in Riley may be split across more than one code. Boundaries also shift as USPS adjusts delivery routes. Treat the figures here as describing a delivery area, which is what they actually measure.

Look up another

Search any ZIP code

Questions

Common questions about 47871

What city is ZIP code 47871 in?
47871 serves Riley, Indiana, in Vigo County, United States.
What is the population of 47871?
About 479 people live in ZIP code 47871, according to the US Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. The margin of error on that figure is ±184. That works out to roughly 5,570 people per square mile.
What is the average income in 47871?
The median household income in 47871 is $72,813 per year, compared with a US median of $70,109. Per capita income is $22,674. Median income is more representative than an average because it isn't skewed by a small number of very high earners.
How expensive is housing in 47871?
The median home value is $92,700 and median gross rent is $921 a month. 70.3% of occupied homes are owner-occupied.
Is 47871 a good place to live?
That depends on what you're looking for, but here are the facts: 15.5% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, the unemployment rate is 21.4%, and the median age is 34.3. The average commute is 24.6 minutes. We publish the numbers and let you weigh them.
What time zone is 47871 in?
47871 observes Eastern Time (America/Indiana/Indianapolis). This zone observes daylight saving time.
How big is ZIP code 47871?
ZIP code 47871 covers 0.086 square miles of land, per the US Census Bureau's 2023 Gazetteer files.
Is 47871 urban, suburban or rural?
By population density, 47871 reads as a densely built-up area. It holds 5,570 people per square mile across 0.086 square miles of land. For reference, densities above 10,000 per square mile generally indicate an urban core, 1,000–3,000 is typically suburban, and under 200 is rural. These are rules of thumb rather than official designations — the Census Bureau classifies urban and rural areas by census block, not by ZIP code.
How much is rent in 47871?
Median gross rent in 47871 is $921 a month, according to the American Community Survey. Gross rent includes contract rent plus the estimated cost of utilities and fuels, so it is closer to what a tenant actually pays than a headline rent figure. Of 172 occupied homes here, 51 are rented.
What is the commute like from 47871?
The average one-way commute from 47871 takes about 24.6 minutes. The most common way to travel is drove alone, used by 51.6% of workers aged 16 and over. Commute figures cover people who were employed and working outside the home during the survey period.
How many people work in 47871?
About 184 residents of 47871 are employed. Labor force participation stands at 65.9% and the unemployment rate is 21.4%. Note this counts residents by where they live, not by where they work — a ZIP with many offices can have far more jobs than employed residents.
Where should I stay when visiting 47871?
Accommodation in and around Riley, IN ranges with the character of the area. See the 'Where to stay' section on this page for local context, and use the live search there for current availability and pricing.
Does 47871 cover more than one city or county?
This page lists Riley as the primary place and Vigo County as the county. ZIP codes follow mail delivery routes rather than municipal or county lines, so a single code can straddle boundaries, and USPS also recognises alternate acceptable city names for many codes. If you need the definitive answer for a specific street address, the USPS ZIP Code Lookup is the authority.
Can ZIP code 47871 change?
Yes. USPS adjusts ZIP codes as delivery volumes shift — codes are occasionally split, merged, retired or newly created, and boundaries move more often than most people assume. The Census Bureau's ZCTA definitions, which underpin the demographic figures on this page, are redrawn only once a decade, so the two can drift apart between censuses.

Methodology

Where this data comes from

  • Postal geography — GeoNames open postal code database (CC BY 4.0), cross-checked against the US Census Gazetteer.
  • Demographics, income, housing, commute — US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-Year Estimates, ZIP Code Tabulation Area 47871. Tables B01001, B01002, B01003, B02001, B03003, B08301, B08303, B11001, B15003, B17001, B19001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25024, B25035, B25064, B25077, B28002.
  • Land and water area — US Census Bureau 2023 Gazetteer Files.
  • Weather — NOAA National Weather Service, fetched live in your browser.
  • Map — OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
On accuracy. ACS figures are survey estimates, not counts. The margin of error shown alongside the population figure means the true value has a 90% chance of falling in that range. For small ZIP codes the error can be large relative to the estimate — treat the direction as more reliable than the exact number. This page reports data for ZCTA 47871, the Census approximation of the USPS delivery area.