ZIP 60603 vs ZIP 60604

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60603 (Chicago, IL) and ZIP 60604 (Chicago, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60603 has a population of 493 at 1,314 people per square mile, while ZIP 60604 has 570 at 2,377 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 60603 reports a median household income of $133,545 against $81,658 in ZIP 60604, with per-capita income of $100,340 vs $132,803. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 94.8% in 60603 and 95.4% in 60604. Poverty rate reads 14.1% vs 12.5%, and unemployment 4.0% vs 8.7% — 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 $633,900 in 60603 versus $597,100 in 60604, with median rent of $2,207 and $2,412 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 57.6% vs 55.5%. 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.