ZIP 60090 vs ZIP 60070

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60090 (Wheeling, IL) and ZIP 60070 (Prospect Heights, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60090 has a population of 37,633 at 1,549 people per square mile, while ZIP 60070 has 16,001 at 1,711 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 60090 reports a median household income of $85,355 against $84,775 in ZIP 60070, with per-capita income of $41,478 vs $47,853. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 40.9% in 60090 and 41.0% in 60070. Poverty rate reads 10.0% vs 7.2%, and unemployment 4.8% vs 3.5% — 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 $264,800 in 60090 versus $343,000 in 60070, with median rent of $1,663 and $1,475 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 62.5% vs 66.5%. 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.