ZIP 77587 vs ZIP 77502

This side-by-side compares ZIP 77587 (South Houston, TX) and ZIP 77502 (Pasadena, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 77587 has a population of 16,568 at 2,161 people per square mile, while ZIP 77502 has 37,995 at 2,613 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 77587 reports a median household income of $53,497 against $62,500 in ZIP 77502, with per-capita income of $21,830 vs $22,502. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 10.3% in 77587 and 9.8% in 77502. Poverty rate reads 26.1% vs 25.6%, and unemployment 8.3% vs 9.2% — 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 $189,300 in 77587 versus $177,400 in 77502, with median rent of $1,212 and $1,260 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 55.4% vs 63.4%. 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.