ZIP 60431 vs ZIP 60404

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60431 (Joliet, IL) and ZIP 60404 (Shorewood, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60431 has a population of 22,577 at 641 people per square mile, while ZIP 60404 has 17,395 at 430 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 60431 reports a median household income of $122,870 against $122,171 in ZIP 60404, with per-capita income of $45,045 vs $49,144. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.9% in 60431 and 40.1% in 60404. Poverty rate reads 5.1% vs 6.0%, and unemployment 2.6% 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 $294,300 in 60431 versus $335,800 in 60404, with median rent of $1,410 and $1,779 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 93.1% vs 95.1%. 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.