ZIP 78520 vs ZIP 78575

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78520 (Brownsville, TX) and ZIP 78575 (Olmito, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78520 has a population of 59,408 at 628 people per square mile, while ZIP 78575 has 8,056 at 252 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 78520 reports a median household income of $50,116 against $71,765 in ZIP 78575, with per-capita income of $21,364 vs $39,404. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.9% in 78520 and 44.2% in 78575. Poverty rate reads 23.2% vs 22.2%, and unemployment 6.6% vs 3.7% — 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 $146,000 in 78520 versus $249,500 in 78575, with median rent of $865 and $1,085 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 60.2% vs 56.0%. 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.