ZIP 60098 vs ZIP 60097

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60098 (Woodstock, IL) and ZIP 60097 (Wonder Lake, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60098 has a population of 32,228 at 118 people per square mile, while ZIP 60097 has 11,250 at 295 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 60098 reports a median household income of $91,062 against $93,397 in ZIP 60097, with per-capita income of $46,373 vs $39,963. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.9% in 60098 and 16.2% in 60097. Poverty rate reads 6.4% vs 10.1%, and unemployment 3.8% vs 5.0% — 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 $276,900 in 60098 versus $229,700 in 60097, with median rent of $1,215 and $1,417 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.2% vs 88.6%. 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.