ZIP 60115 vs ZIP 60112

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