ZIP 60135 vs ZIP 60178

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60135 (Genoa, IL) and ZIP 60178 (Sycamore, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60135 has a population of 7,248 at 60 people per square mile, while ZIP 60178 has 21,840 at 122 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 60135 reports a median household income of $98,033 against $92,913 in ZIP 60178, with per-capita income of $48,489 vs $46,128. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.8% in 60135 and 46.8% in 60178. Poverty rate reads 9.5% vs 7.2%, and unemployment 3.1% vs 2.9% - 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 $254,000 in 60135 versus $279,500 in 60178, with median rent of $940 and $1,166 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 76.0% vs 72.9%. 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.