ZIP 78046 vs ZIP 78045

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78046 (Laredo, TX) and ZIP 78045 (Laredo, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78046 has a population of 64,548 at 101 people per square mile, while ZIP 78045 has 54,713 at 29 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 78046 reports a median household income of $55,826 against $90,608 in ZIP 78045, with per-capita income of $18,228 vs $34,902. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.2% in 78046 and 35.9% in 78045. Poverty rate reads 26.4% vs 7.3%, and unemployment 5.6% vs 3.5% — 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 $150,600 in 78046 versus $243,900 in 78045, with median rent of $1,086 and $1,420 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.4% vs 78.9%. 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.