ZIP 60957 vs ZIP 60949

This side-by-side compares ZIP 60957 (Paxton, IL) and ZIP 60949 (Ludlow, IL) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 60957 has a population of 5,615 at 22 people per square mile, while ZIP 60949 has 636 at 10 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 60957 reports a median household income of $69,014 against $60,750 in ZIP 60949, with per-capita income of $36,034 vs $25,097. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.7% in 60957 and 14.3% in 60949. Poverty rate reads 7.3% vs 20.0%, and unemployment 1.8% vs 13.4% — 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 $131,800 in 60957 versus $100,000 in 60949, with median rent of $783 and $1,052 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.7% vs 58.7%. 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.