ZIP 78559 vs ZIP 78592

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78559 (La Feria, TX) and ZIP 78592 (Santa Maria, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78559 has a population of 12,751 at 140 people per square mile, while ZIP 78592 has 836 at 92 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 78559 reports a median household income of $49,383 against — in ZIP 78592, with per-capita income of $25,126 vs $17,172. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.5% in 78559 and 2.6% in 78592. Poverty rate reads 21.6% vs 37.2%, and unemployment 8.0% vs 0.0% — 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 $103,800 in 78559 versus $76,700 in 78592, with median rent of $1,038 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.5% vs 100.0%. 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.