ZIP 60188 vs ZIP 60139

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60188 (Carol Stream, IL) and ZIP 60139 (Glendale Heights, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60188 has a population of 42,656 at 1,632 people per square mile, while ZIP 60139 has 34,381 at 2,391 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 60188 reports a median household income of $103,628 against $86,372 in ZIP 60139, with per-capita income of $45,888 vs $38,582. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 42.7% in 60188 and 29.8% in 60139. Poverty rate reads 6.2% vs 10.3%, and unemployment 4.1% vs 6.0% — 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 $337,400 in 60188 versus $261,800 in 60139, with median rent of $1,529 and $1,588 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 68.9% vs 64.3%. 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.