ZIP 77074 vs ZIP 77036

This side-by-side compares ZIP 77074 (Houston, TX) and ZIP 77036 (Houston, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 77074 has a population of 37,267 at 2,644 people per square mile, while ZIP 77036 has 71,969 at 3,884 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 77074 reports a median household income of $47,810 against $45,716 in ZIP 77036, with per-capita income of $22,088 vs $22,029. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.8% in 77074 and 14.5% in 77036. Poverty rate reads 27.1% vs 29.5%, and unemployment 4.8% vs 5.9% — 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 $213,000 in 77074 versus $235,300 in 77036, with median rent of $1,085 and $1,042 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 33.4% vs 17.7%. 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.