ZIP 60040 vs ZIP 60035

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60040 (Highwood, IL) and ZIP 60035 (Highland Park, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60040 has a population of 5,431 at 2,962 people per square mile, while ZIP 60035 has 29,763 at 904 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 60040 reports a median household income of $107,875 against $168,094 in ZIP 60035, with per-capita income of $51,301 vs $98,275. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 39.1% in 60040 and 76.9% in 60035. Poverty rate reads 16.0% vs 4.2%, and unemployment 5.9% vs 3.2% — 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 $405,400 in 60040 versus $607,300 in 60035, with median rent of $1,900 and $1,925 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 56.0% vs 83.8%. 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.