ZIP 76682 vs ZIP 76661

This side-by-side compares ZIP 76682 (Riesel, TX) and ZIP 76661 (Marlin, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 76682 has a population of 2,660 at 9 people per square mile, while ZIP 76661 has 8,708 at 21 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 76682 reports a median household income of $84,148 against $41,056 in ZIP 76661, with per-capita income of $31,835 vs $17,304. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.7% in 76682 and 13.5% in 76661. Poverty rate reads 9.7% vs 24.8%, and unemployment 3.4% vs 12.9% — 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 $197,400 in 76682 versus $66,700 in 76661, with median rent of $1,147 and $687 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 88.0% vs 67.0%. 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.