ZIP 77018 vs ZIP 77008

This side-by-side compares ZIP 77018 (Houston, TX) and ZIP 77008 (Houston, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 77018 has a population of 25,563 at 1,491 people per square mile, while ZIP 77008 has 30,482 at 1,802 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 77018 reports a median household income of $127,017 against $143,229 in ZIP 77008, with per-capita income of $70,504 vs $108,949. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 63.3% in 77018 and 74.3% in 77008. Poverty rate reads 11.6% vs 8.5%, and unemployment 4.8% vs 2.8% — 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 $584,600 in 77018 versus $642,600 in 77008, with median rent of $1,293 and $1,686 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.5% vs 59.1%. 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.