ZIP 60129 vs ZIP 61049

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60129 (Esmond, IL) and ZIP 61049 (Lindenwood, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60129 has a population of 242 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 61049 has 585 at 11 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 60129 reports a median household income of $117,750 against $91,607 in ZIP 61049, with per-capita income of $50,772 vs $35,381. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 40.4% in 60129 and 22.3% in 61049. Poverty rate reads 1.3% vs 6.9%, and unemployment 5.4% vs 25.0% — 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 $187,500 in 60129 versus $177,800 in 61049, with median rent of $695 and $1,014 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.1% vs 73.3%. 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.