ZIP 78342 vs ZIP 78332

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78342 (Ben Bolt, TX) and ZIP 78332 (Alice, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78342 has a population of 386 at 83 people per square mile, while ZIP 78332 has 28,710 at 22 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 78342 reports a median household income of $40,739 against $49,887 in ZIP 78332, with per-capita income of $19,976 vs $25,566. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 9.2% in 78342 and 13.2% in 78332. Poverty rate reads 18.8% vs 29.3%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 5.3% - 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 - in 78342 versus $107,500 in 78332, with median rent of - and $947 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 62.1% vs 65.2%. 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.