ZIP 77087 vs ZIP 77023

This side-by-side compares ZIP 77087 (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 77087 has a population of 36,399 at 2,113 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 77087 reports a median household income of $52,847 against $51,430 in ZIP 77023, with per-capita income of $22,937 vs $34,045. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.2% in 77087 and 24.5% in 77023. Poverty rate reads 22.0% vs 14.5%, and unemployment 10.5% 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 $177,900 in 77087 versus $302,300 in 77023, with median rent of $1,082 and $1,106 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 52.3% 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.