ZIP 60551 vs ZIP 60549

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60551 (Sheridan, IL) and ZIP 60549 (Serena, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60551 has a population of 5,062 at 34 people per square mile, while ZIP 60549 has 643 at 10 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 60551 reports a median household income of $86,786 against $108,417 in ZIP 60549, with per-capita income of $34,665 vs $34,941. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.7% in 60551 and 26.9% in 60549. Poverty rate reads 9.6% vs 8.0%, and unemployment 2.3% vs 6.8% — 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 $301,600 in 60551 versus $305,500 in 60549, with median rent of $1,021 and $1,069 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.7% vs 77.6%. 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.