ZIP 77049 vs ZIP 77530

This side-by-side compares ZIP 77049 (Houston, TX) and ZIP 77530 (Channelview, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 77049 has a population of 28,521 at 447 people per square mile, while ZIP 77530 has 31,086 at 909 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 77049 reports a median household income of $62,971 against $62,195 in ZIP 77530, with per-capita income of $25,444 vs $25,878. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.4% in 77049 and 15.1% in 77530. Poverty rate reads 20.1% vs 17.9%, and unemployment 8.4% vs 8.1% — 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 $217,600 in 77049 versus $180,800 in 77530, with median rent of $1,587 and $1,160 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.9% vs 69.8%. 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.