ZIP 60511 vs ZIP 60545

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60511 (Big Rock, IL) and ZIP 60545 (Plano, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60511 has a population of 1,793 at 23 people per square mile, while ZIP 60545 has 12,940 at 132 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 60511 reports a median household income of $158,625 against $86,756 in ZIP 60545, with per-capita income of $53,563 vs $35,275. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.1% in 60511 and 23.6% in 60545. Poverty rate reads 10.8% vs 11.2%, and unemployment 1.9% vs 4.5% — 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 $337,800 in 60511 versus $241,500 in 60545, with median rent of $1,653 and $1,667 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 93.4% vs 73.0%. 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.