ZIP 60935 vs ZIP 60969

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60935 (Essex, IL) and ZIP 60969 (Union Hill, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60935 has a population of 1,064 at 22 people per square mile, while ZIP 60969 has 65 at 99 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 60935 reports a median household income of $110,000 against $112,500 in ZIP 60969, with per-capita income of $49,749 vs $41,638. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.9% in 60935 and 39.1% in 60969. Poverty rate reads 3.1% vs 2.8%, and unemployment 2.7% vs 0.0% — 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 $248,900 in 60935 versus $158,300 in 60969, with median rent of $1,143 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.6% vs 85.7%. 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.