ZIP 60202 vs ZIP 60645

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60202 (Evanston, IL) and ZIP 60645 (Chicago, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60202 has a population of 31,361 at 3,963 people per square mile, while ZIP 60645 has 45,274 at 7,743 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 60202 reports a median household income of $98,989 against $76,045 in ZIP 60645, with per-capita income of $60,825 vs $38,725. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 64.9% in 60202 and 45.2% in 60645. Poverty rate reads 9.0% vs 20.0%, and unemployment 6.8% vs 8.0% — 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 $397,600 in 60202 versus $328,200 in 60645, with median rent of $1,651 and $1,440 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 58.1% vs 53.8%. 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.