ZIP 78041 vs ZIP 78040

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78041 (Laredo, TX) and ZIP 78040 (Laredo, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78041 has a population of 44,153 at 931 people per square mile, while ZIP 78040 has 42,083 at 2,579 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 78041 reports a median household income of $61,544 against $36,092 in ZIP 78040, with per-capita income of $30,026 vs $17,498. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.3% in 78041 and 8.6% in 78040. Poverty rate reads 19.9% vs 34.5%, and unemployment 5.4% vs 6.3% — 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 $221,300 in 78041 versus $118,700 in 78040, with median rent of $978 and $895 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 53.7% vs 37.8%. 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.