ZIP 60642 vs ZIP 60610

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60642 (Chicago, IL) and ZIP 60610 (Chicago, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60642 has a population of 18,480 at 4,316 people per square mile, while ZIP 60610 has 37,726 at 12,586 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 60642 reports a median household income of $143,175 against $105,226 in ZIP 60610, with per-capita income of $96,847 vs $109,567. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 77.4% in 60642 and 81.5% in 60610. Poverty rate reads 8.9% vs 12.5%, and unemployment 4.6% vs 3.8% — 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 $593,600 in 60642 versus $505,900 in 60610, with median rent of $2,243 and $2,089 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 33.7% vs 34.4%. 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.