ZIP 60112 vs ZIP 60115

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60112 (Cortland, IL) and ZIP 60115 (Dekalb, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60112 has a population of 4,560 at 476 people per square mile, while ZIP 60115 has 46,272 at 221 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 60112 reports a median household income of $72,831 against $47,043 in ZIP 60115, with per-capita income of $32,908 vs $27,770. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.6% in 60112 and 33.9% in 60115. Poverty rate reads 6.9% vs 25.2%, and unemployment 8.1% vs 9.9% - 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 $229,900 in 60112 versus $208,600 in 60115, with median rent of $1,552 and $1,018 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.6% vs 43.0%. 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.