ZIP 78253 vs ZIP 78066

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78253 (San Antonio, TX) and ZIP 78066 (Rio Medina, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78253 has a population of 29,007 at 206 people per square mile, while ZIP 78066 has 591 at 9 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 78253 reports a median household income of $106,373 against $87,604 in ZIP 78066, with per-capita income of $42,218 vs $47,030. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 43.9% in 78253 and 60.6% in 78066. Poverty rate reads 7.8% vs 10.8%, and unemployment 4.1% 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 $360,000 in 78253 versus $326,900 in 78066, with median rent of $1,615 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.0% 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.