ZIP 78579 vs ZIP 78596

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78579 (Progreso, TX) and ZIP 78596 (Weslaco, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78579 has a population of 4,580 at 211 people per square mile, while ZIP 78596 has 63,844 at 415 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 78579 reports a median household income of $19,172 against $58,411 in ZIP 78596, with per-capita income of $13,200 vs $24,540. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.8% in 78579 and 21.2% in 78596. Poverty rate reads 57.4% vs 22.1%, and unemployment 6.8% vs 5.6% — 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 — in 78579 versus $104,000 in 78596, with median rent of $948 and $936 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 68.3% vs 64.0%. 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.