ZIP 60148 vs ZIP 60126

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60148 (Lombard, IL) and ZIP 60126 (Elmhurst, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60148 has a population of 51,468 at 1,463 people per square mile, while ZIP 60126 has 46,371 at 1,612 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 60148 reports a median household income of $100,616 against $147,566 in ZIP 60126, with per-capita income of $49,723 vs $77,520. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 48.7% in 60148 and 63.6% in 60126. Poverty rate reads 7.6% vs 3.3%, and unemployment 5.1% vs 4.1% — 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 $344,100 in 60148 versus $540,300 in 60126, with median rent of $1,923 and $1,983 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.5% vs 80.7%. 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.