ZIP 60424 vs ZIP 60474

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60424 (Gardner, IL) and ZIP 60474 (South Wilmington, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60424 has a population of 2,440 at 18 people per square mile, while ZIP 60474 has 760 at 89 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 60424 reports a median household income of $83,250 against $85,500 in ZIP 60474, with per-capita income of $39,013 vs $46,623. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 17.8% in 60424 and 14.2% in 60474. Poverty rate reads 15.0% vs 6.3%, and unemployment 10.0% vs 4.2% — 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 $197,400 in 60424 versus $177,500 in 60474, with median rent of $1,035 and $1,358 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.4% vs 88.0%. 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.