ZIP 60438 vs ZIP 60409

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60438 (Lansing, IL) and ZIP 60409 (Calumet City, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60438 has a population of 28,884 at 1,404 people per square mile, while ZIP 60409 has 37,186 at 1,929 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 60438 reports a median household income of $75,681 against $55,369 in ZIP 60409, with per-capita income of $36,133 vs $28,113. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.9% in 60438 and 21.4% in 60409. Poverty rate reads 13.8% vs 23.4%, and unemployment 9.6% vs 10.6% — 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 $177,700 in 60438 versus $145,200 in 60409, with median rent of $1,271 and $1,177 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.3% vs 55.7%. 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.