ZIP 78218 vs ZIP 78209

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78218 (San Antonio, TX) and ZIP 78209 (San Antonio, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78218 has a population of 31,917 at 1,042 people per square mile, while ZIP 78209 has 39,197 at 1,486 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 78218 reports a median household income of $57,285 against $86,514 in ZIP 78209, with per-capita income of $30,624 vs $72,305. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.7% in 78218 and 60.9% in 78209. Poverty rate reads 18.9% vs 9.3%, and unemployment 5.3% vs 3.9% — 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 $190,900 in 78218 versus $497,000 in 78209, with median rent of $1,215 and $1,447 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 48.2% vs 50.0%. 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.