ZIP 78542 vs ZIP 78541

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78542 (Edinburg, TX) and ZIP 78541 (Edinburg, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78542 has a population of 63,293 at 144 people per square mile, while ZIP 78541 has 42,431 at 57 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 78542 reports a median household income of $55,243 against $52,863 in ZIP 78541, with per-capita income of $19,389 vs $23,645. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.8% in 78542 and 24.9% in 78541. Poverty rate reads 30.4% vs 31.7%, and unemployment 9.7% vs 6.2% — 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 $150,200 in 78542 versus $156,700 in 78541, with median rent of $865 and $961 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.7% vs 53.0%. 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.