ZIP 75831 vs ZIP 77871

This side-by-side compares ZIP 75831 (Buffalo, TX) and ZIP 77871 (Normangee, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 75831 has a population of 5,386 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 77871 has 3,368 at 7 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 75831 reports a median household income of $51,935 against $67,877 in ZIP 77871, with per-capita income of $30,333 vs $35,088. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.8% in 75831 and 25.7% in 77871. Poverty rate reads 16.1% vs 12.2%, and unemployment 3.8% vs 3.8% — 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 $117,500 in 75831 versus $234,300 in 77871, with median rent of $920 and $788 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.3% vs 79.8%. 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.