ZIP 77012 vs ZIP 77023

This side-by-side compares ZIP 77012 (Houston, TX) and ZIP 77023 (Houston, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 77012 has a population of 20,719 at 2,037 people per square mile, while ZIP 77023 has 28,998 at 2,055 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 77012 reports a median household income of $45,025 against $51,430 in ZIP 77023, with per-capita income of $21,320 vs $34,045. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 8.7% in 77012 and 24.5% in 77023. Poverty rate reads 27.3% vs 14.5%, and unemployment 6.2% vs 7.6% — 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 $162,200 in 77012 versus $302,300 in 77023, with median rent of $974 and $1,106 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 37.9% vs 48.1%. 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.