ZIP 60649 vs ZIP 60637

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60649 (Chicago, IL) and ZIP 60637 (Chicago, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60649 has a population of 46,650 at 6,149 people per square mile, while ZIP 60637 has 49,503 at 4,220 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 60649 reports a median household income of $44,175 against $43,609 in ZIP 60637, with per-capita income of $31,997 vs $36,588. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.3% in 60649 and 39.2% in 60637. Poverty rate reads 27.5% vs 31.4%, and unemployment 14.7% vs 13.7% — 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 $213,200 in 60649 versus $257,300 in 60637, with median rent of $1,107 and $1,187 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 25.1% vs 26.0%. 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.