ZIP 78159 vs ZIP 78677

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78159 (Smiley, TX) and ZIP 78677 (Wrightsboro, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78159 has a population of 1,023 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 78677 has 92 at 1 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 78159 reports a median household income of $35,083 against — in ZIP 78677, with per-capita income of $21,052 vs $54,559. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 7.6% in 78159 and 36.4% in 78677. Poverty rate reads 22.0% vs 25.0%, and unemployment 7.9% vs 0.0% — 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 $132,600 in 78159 versus — in 78677, with median rent of $921 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 68.9% 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.