ZIP 78535 vs ZIP 78552

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78535 (Combes, TX) and ZIP 78552 (Harlingen, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78535 has a population of 581 at 184 people per square mile, while ZIP 78552 has 34,111 at 268 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 78535 reports a median household income of $39,000 against $69,811 in ZIP 78552, with per-capita income of $29,938 vs $29,015. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 14.0% in 78535 and 24.0% in 78552. Poverty rate reads 32.2% vs 21.6%, and unemployment 3.7% vs 5.4% — 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 $107,300 in 78535 versus $169,300 in 78552, with median rent of $778 and $1,113 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.5% vs 75.3%. 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.