ZIP 78161 vs ZIP 78121

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