ZIP 60517 vs ZIP 60516

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60517 (Woodridge, IL) and ZIP 60516 (Downers Grove, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60517 has a population of 32,038 at 1,425 people per square mile, while ZIP 60516 has 29,084 at 1,422 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 60517 reports a median household income of $99,024 against $115,480 in ZIP 60516, with per-capita income of $50,102 vs $58,702. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 45.3% in 60517 and 51.7% in 60516. Poverty rate reads 5.2% vs 4.9%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 5.6% — 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 $361,700 in 60517 versus $441,100 in 60516, with median rent of $1,472 and $1,676 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.3% vs 78.9%. 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.