ZIP 78059 vs ZIP 78052

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78059 (Natalia, TX) and ZIP 78052 (Lytle, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78059 has a population of 5,387 at 51 people per square mile, while ZIP 78052 has 6,388 at 65 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 78059 reports a median household income of $74,940 against $71,429 in ZIP 78052, with per-capita income of $25,696 vs $33,137. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.3% in 78059 and 21.1% in 78052. Poverty rate reads 6.1% vs 13.7%, and unemployment 3.3% vs 3.8% — 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 $184,100 in 78059 versus $200,400 in 78052, with median rent of $1,208 and $1,214 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.4% vs 87.5%. 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.