ZIP 60543 vs ZIP 60538

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60543 (Oswego, IL) and ZIP 60538 (Montgomery, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60543 has a population of 36,156 at 327 people per square mile, while ZIP 60538 has 26,619 at 1,019 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 60543 reports a median household income of $119,371 against $97,131 in ZIP 60538, with per-capita income of $47,177 vs $36,558. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 42.7% in 60543 and 25.6% in 60538. Poverty rate reads 3.1% vs 7.3%, and unemployment 3.0% vs 5.5% — 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 $343,800 in 60543 versus $267,300 in 60538, with median rent of $1,616 and $1,858 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.6% vs 81.3%. 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.