ZIP 77053 vs ZIP 77545

This side-by-side compares ZIP 77053 (Houston, TX) and ZIP 77545 (Fresno, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 77053 has a population of 28,954 at 907 people per square mile, while ZIP 77545 has 19,431 at 616 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 77053 reports a median household income of $66,510 against $94,474 in ZIP 77545, with per-capita income of $25,975 vs $39,114. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.7% in 77053 and 26.4% in 77545. Poverty rate reads 15.6% vs 8.4%, and unemployment 5.7% vs 4.1% — 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 $172,900 in 77053 versus $261,500 in 77545, with median rent of $1,622 and $1,999 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.2% vs 79.3%. 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.