ZIP 78266 vs ZIP 78261

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78266 (San Antonio, TX) and ZIP 78261 (San Antonio, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78266 has a population of 5,591 at 57 people per square mile, while ZIP 78261 has 13,513 at 175 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 78266 reports a median household income of $146,792 against $147,727 in ZIP 78261, with per-capita income of $71,737 vs $57,278. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 60.1% in 78266 and 59.5% in 78261. Poverty rate reads 1.6% vs 2.8%, and unemployment 3.2% vs 4.2% — 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 $586,600 in 78266 versus $430,200 in 78261, with median rent of $2,306 and $1,799 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 94.3% vs 79.8%. 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.