Brownsville, TX

Single-footprint Census roll-up for Brownsville, TX: 3 USPS ZIPs, population 195,686. Open the primary ZIP for household income, housing tenure, and commute from ACS 2023 5-Year Estimates.

U.S. Census Bureau, SimpleMaps US ZIP Code Database, delivery-area ZIP coverage

ACS city ledger plate

Sheet BROWNSVILLE-TX · Brownsville, TX 3 ZIPs · 195,686 pop · #19964/25278 · Cameron County

INC-MID · RANK-LOWER · ABOVE-PEER · BOOK-FEW · OWN-LOW · POP-MID · SPREAD-MOD · HOME-LOW

  • INC-MID $55,063
  • RANK-LOWER #19964/25278
  • ABOVE-PEER over Port Isabel
  • BOOK-FEW 3 ZIPs
  • OWN-LOW 63% owners
  • POP-MID 195,686
  • SPREAD-MOD 78521→78526
  • HOME-LOW $143,567

Nearest income peer: Port Isabel, TX ( $3,183 income $)

Instrument codes from this city’s ACS household income, national rank, county-peer gap, ZIP book, owner tenure, population scale, intra-city income spread, and home-value band, not a moving recommendation.

Income neighbourhood around Brownsville

Lowest/highest poles plus county-sharing cities nearest Brownsville on average ZIP median household income. Full ladder: /cities.

median HH income

What this shows County-sharing peers only, not the full US city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the mosaic is wide.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-25

National city placement

According to ACS 5-Year Estimates, Brownsville, TX sits among US cities with one of the lowest household incomes among US cities, on a mid-size population base, across a handful of delivery areas.

21st pct
household income vs 25,278 US cities
195,686
city population (Census)
3
USPS ZIP codes covered
$55,063
avg ZIP median income

Income percentile ranks this city's average ZIP median household income against 25,278 US cities with ACS income on at least one ZIP. Scale and ZIP-spread words come from Census population and USPS ZIP coverage.

Lower-income footing on only 3 ZIPs ($55,063 average) · poverty 23.4%. The primary code (78521) carries the ACS household fields that matter.

Owner-occupancy is comparatively low (63.2%) for this income tier, rent $950 may matter more than the home-value average.

Within Texas, Elmendorf is the closest lower-income city and Bronte the closest higher-income city by average ZIP household income. Their 1 and 1 ZIP footprints are the immediate statewide comparison set for Brownsville.

Within-city ZIP comparison

Where the ZIP codes inside Brownsville differ

Brownsville's city average masks two linked splits. Median household income runs from $44,509 in ZIP 78521 to $70,565 in ZIP 78526, while home values span $99,700 in 78521 to $185,000 in 78526. Compare the endpoint ZIPs before treating the city-level number as a neighborhood-level answer.

Income high-to-low ratio
1.6×

78521 to 78526

Home-value high-to-low ratio
1.9×

78521 to 78526

Poverty-rate spread
13.3 points

78526 to 78521

Derived from the published ACS 2023 ZIP-level records shown on this site. A high-to-low ratio compares the highest and lowest available ZIP values; it is not a score or forecast.

Population concentration

Lead ZIP 78521 skews compact Brownsville

In this 3-ZIP cluster, 78521 covers about 48% of Brownsville's 195,686 residents. City averages lean toward that lead; open a thinner sibling ZIP for the contrast the mean hides.

Census ZBP business roll-up

Balanced ZBP roll-up inside compact Brownsville

Citywide ZBP: 3,322 establishments, 61,268 employees , annual payroll $2,305,751k (~17 establishments per 1,000 residents) across 3 of 3 ZIPs. Peak business ZIP 78521 (1,384 units) ; leading NAICS Health care and social assistance (557) · also Retail trade · Accommodation and food services .

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ZIP Codes in Brownsville, TX

These ZIP codes sit in Cameron County, which covers 16 ZIP codes in all; 3 of them fall in Brownsville. See the Cameron County roll-up →

Brownsville lands mid-pack among the 10 cities sharing Cameron County: Harlingen, Los Fresnos and Olmito earn more and San Benito, La Feria and Port Isabel earn less. Olmito marks the far end of that range at $71,765, 30% above Brownsville.

Side-by-side: Compare 78521 vs 78520 →

ZIP Code Population Median income Establishments Density
78521 93,818 $44,509 1,384 389
78520 59,408 $50,116 1,169 628
78526 42,460 $70,565 769 372

Brownsville roll-ups here are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial or relocation advice. ACS and Census ZBP figures are estimates; confirm the current table against Census before a money or move decision involving Brownsville, .