ZIP 60638 vs ZIP 60459

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60638 (Chicago, IL) and ZIP 60459 (Burbank, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60638 has a population of 55,026 at 1,913 people per square mile, while ZIP 60459 has 28,929 at 2,662 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 60638 reports a median household income of $91,070 against $80,116 in ZIP 60459, with per-capita income of $39,284 vs $31,395. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.1% in 60638 and 15.6% in 60459. Poverty rate reads 6.4% vs 12.9%, and unemployment 4.6% vs 7.1% — 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 $299,100 in 60638 versus $275,700 in 60459, with median rent of $1,348 and $1,265 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.8% vs 80.9%. 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.