ZIP 76542 vs ZIP 76549

This side-by-side compares ZIP 76542 (Killeen, TX) and ZIP 76549 (Killeen, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 76542 has a population of 40,025 at 192 people per square mile, while ZIP 76549 has 44,490 at 224 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 76542 reports a median household income of $74,055 against $70,871 in ZIP 76549, with per-capita income of $33,150 vs $28,722. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.4% in 76542 and 23.5% in 76549. Poverty rate reads 12.4% vs 15.7%, and unemployment 7.9% vs 7.4% — 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 $244,000 in 76542 versus $226,000 in 76549, with median rent of $1,355 and $1,517 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 65.3% vs 55.3%. 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.