ZIP 77006 vs ZIP 77098

This side-by-side compares ZIP 77006 (Houston, TX) and ZIP 77098 (Houston, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 77006 has a population of 19,664 at 3,367 people per square mile, while ZIP 77098 has 13,076 at 2,844 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 77006 reports a median household income of $106,533 against $116,650 in ZIP 77098, with per-capita income of $102,976 vs $100,638. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 78.9% in 77006 and 80.8% in 77098. Poverty rate reads 8.5% vs 9.6%, and unemployment 3.6% vs 4.5% — 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 $614,800 in 77006 versus $787,300 in 77098, with median rent of $1,802 and $1,892 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 34.6% vs 34.1%. 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.