ZIP 78589 vs ZIP 78577

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78589 (San Juan, TX) and ZIP 78577 (Pharr, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78589 has a population of 38,004 at 706 people per square mile, while ZIP 78577 has 70,840 at 861 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 78589 reports a median household income of $54,285 against $52,770 in ZIP 78577, with per-capita income of $19,628 vs $21,281. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.8% in 78589 and 18.8% in 78577. Poverty rate reads 24.3% vs 27.6%, and unemployment 7.1% vs 7.1% — 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 $120,400 in 78589 versus $122,100 in 78577, with median rent of $937 and $1,034 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.3% vs 59.0%. 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.