ZIP 78583 vs ZIP 78566

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78583 (Rio Hondo, TX) and ZIP 78566 (Los Fresnos, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78583 has a population of 6,623 at 29 people per square mile, while ZIP 78566 has 16,230 at 55 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 78583 reports a median household income of $51,453 against $60,187 in ZIP 78566, with per-capita income of $26,268 vs $24,638. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.7% in 78583 and 21.4% in 78566. Poverty rate reads 17.6% vs 29.9%, and unemployment 1.3% vs 4.9% — 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 $161,900 in 78583 versus $154,300 in 78566, with median rent of $698 and $891 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.0% vs 75.0%. 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.