ZIP 60538 vs ZIP 60506

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60538 (Montgomery, IL) and ZIP 60506 (Aurora, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60538 has a population of 26,619 at 1,019 people per square mile, while ZIP 60506 has 53,013 at 1,097 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 60538 reports a median household income of $97,131 against $79,517 in ZIP 60506, with per-capita income of $36,558 vs $36,458. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.6% in 60538 and 29.3% in 60506. Poverty rate reads 7.3% vs 11.8%, and unemployment 5.5% vs 5.3% — 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 $267,300 in 60538 versus $253,700 in 60506, with median rent of $1,858 and $1,343 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.3% vs 67.6%. 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.