ZIP 78121 vs ZIP 78161

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78121 (La Vernia, TX) and ZIP 78161 (Sutherland Springs, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78121 has a population of 11,381 at 43 people per square mile, while ZIP 78161 has 864 at 26 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 78121 reports a median household income of $120,048 against $79,904 in ZIP 78161, with per-capita income of $46,254 vs $23,743. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.1% in 78121 and 23.6% in 78161. Poverty rate reads 8.0% vs 42.5%, and unemployment 2.7% vs 12.4% — 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 $402,600 in 78121 versus $204,100 in 78161, with median rent of $1,192 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 86.9% vs 100.0%. 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.