ZIP 78504 vs ZIP 78501

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78504 (Mcallen, TX) and ZIP 78501 (Mcallen, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78504 has a population of 48,703 at 1,064 people per square mile, while ZIP 78501 has 61,219 at 1,541 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 78504 reports a median household income of $81,905 against $48,071 in ZIP 78501, with per-capita income of $36,517 vs $25,706. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 39.5% in 78504 and 28.2% in 78501. Poverty rate reads 12.3% vs 26.4%, and unemployment 7.4% vs 5.2% — 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 $218,900 in 78504 versus $161,000 in 78501, with median rent of $1,173 and $969 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.9% vs 49.3%. 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.