ZIP 78039 vs ZIP 78009

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78039 (La Coste, TX) and ZIP 78009 (Castroville, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78039 has a population of 1,657 at 35 people per square mile, while ZIP 78009 has 7,255 at 39 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 78039 reports a median household income of $96,250 against $103,125 in ZIP 78009, with per-capita income of $45,355 vs $41,228. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 33.1% in 78039 and 29.9% in 78009. Poverty rate reads 10.2% vs 4.2%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 3.1% — 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 $131,400 in 78039 versus $368,700 in 78009, with median rent of — and $1,250 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.8% vs 86.0%. 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.