By William S. Bike
Do we really know our own community? Thanks to City-Data.com, we can know a lot more than we may currently.
City-Data collects information from a variety of private sources, creating detailed, informative profiles for every neighborhood in every city in the United States.

With several colleges and universities in the area, some local communities have significantly higher percentages of people with bachelor’s degrees or higher.
The ten neighborhoods comprising this area fall within seven ZIP codes. On a regular basis, Gazette Chicago will provide demographic information collected by City-Data to shed light on the community that is our home.
This month, our demographics article looks at statistics on cost of living, education, commute time, and marital status and sees how various communities compare to State of Illinois averages.
60605 (South Loop)
Cost of living: 106.4% of U.S. average.
Bachelor’s degree or higher, 78.2% Graduate or professional degree 42.1%. Unemployed, 2.8%. Mean time of commute to work, 29.4 minutes.
Never married, 49.6%. Now married, 41.2%. Separated, 1.9%. Widowed, 1.4%. Divorced, 6.0%.
Compared to the rest of the State of Illinois: median household income is above average, median house value is above average, percentage of unemployed is lower than average, Hispanic population is below average, median age is below average, length of stay since moving in is significantly below average, number of rooms per dwelling is significantly below average, building age is below average, number of college students is above average, and the percentage of people with a bachelor’s degree or higher is significantly above average.
60607 (Near West Side, University Village, West Loop)
Cost of living: 106.5% of U.S. average.
Bachelor’s degree or higher, 80.7% Graduate or professional degree 37.5%. Unemployed, 5.5%. Mean time of commute to work, 27.6 minutes.
Never married, 60.7%. Now married, 30.2%. Separated, 0.5%. Widowed, 2.06%. Divorced, 6.7%.
Compared to the rest of the State of Illinois: median household income is above average, median house value is above average, Hispanic population is below average, median age is significantly below average, renting percentage is above average, length of stay since moving in is significantly below average, number of rooms per dwelling is significantly below average, building age is below average, number of college students is above average, and percentage of residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher is significantly above average.
60608 (Bridgeport, Heart of Chicago, Near West Side, Pilsen, Tri-Taylor, University Village, West Haven)
Cost of living: 104.3% of U.S. average.
Bachelor’s degree or higher, 29.7%. Graduate or professional degree 10.5%. Unemployed, 5.8%. Mean time of commute to work, 32.2 minutes.
Never married, 52.9%. Now married, 34.2%. Separated, 3.0%. Widowed, 3.1%. Divorced, 6.8%.
Compared to the rest of the State of Illinois: Hispanic population is above average, median age is below average, foreign-born population is above average, renting population is above average, length of stay since moving in is significantly above average, number of rooms per dwelling is below average, and building age is above average.
60609 (Armour Square, Bridgeport)
Cost of living: 103.0% of U.S. average.
Bachelor’s degree or higher, 15.0%. Graduate or professional degree 5.2%. Unemployed, 12.7%. Mean time of commute to work, 33.7 minutes.
Never married, 48.1%. Now married, 35.0%. Separated, 3.1%. Widowed, 6.3%. Divorced, 7.4%.
Compared to the rest of the State of Illinois: median household income is below average, percentage of unemployed is above average, Black population is above average, Hispanic population is significantly above average, median age is below average, foreign-born population is above average, percentage of renters is above average, age of buildings is above average, and percentage of the population with a bachelor’s degree or higher is significantly below average.
60612 (Near West Side, Tri-Taylor, University Village)
Cost of living: 106.5% of U.S. average.
Bachelor’s degree or higher, 36.5%. Graduate or professional degree 15.0%. Unemployed, 8.4%. Mean time of commute to work, 33.6 minutes.
Never married, 60.3%. Now married, 24.3%. Separated, 2.4%. Widowed, 4.4%. Divorced, 8.6%.
Compared to the rest of the State of Illinois: median income is below average, median house value is above state average, percentage of unemployed is above average, Black population is significantly above average, median age is below state average, foreign-born population is below average, percentage of renters is above average, and number of rooms per dwelling is below average.
60616 (Armour Square, Bridgeport, Chinatown, Pilsen, South Loop)
Cost of living: 106.0% of U.S. average.
Bachelor’s degree or higher, 46.9%. Graduate or professional degree 23.6%. Unemployed, 4.4%. Mean time of commute to work, 30.4 minutes.
Never married, 44.6%. Now married, 38.5%. Separated, 1.5%. Widowed, 6.3%. Divorced, 9.1%.
Compared to the rest of the State of Illinois: median house value is above average, Hispanic population is below average, foreign-born population is significantly above average, percentage of renters is above average, number of rooms per dwelling is significantly below average, and the number of college students is above average.
60653 (Bronzeville)
Cost of living: 109.4% of U.S. average.
Bachelor’s degree or higher, 35.6%. Graduate or professional degree 15.0%. Unemployed, 13.4%. Mean time of commute to work, 35.6 minutes.
Never married, 53.7%. Now married, 22.2%. Separated, 4.5%. Widowed, 6.4%. Divorced, 12.9%. Compared to the rest of the State of Illinois: median income is below average, median house value is above average, percentage of unemployed is above average, Black population is significantly above average, Hispanic population is significantly below average, foreign-born population is significantly below average, percentage of renters is above average, length of stay since moving in is below average, and number of rooms per dwelling is below average.