ZIP 78596 vs ZIP 78537

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78596 (Weslaco, TX) and ZIP 78537 (Donna, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78596 has a population of 63,844 at 415 people per square mile, while ZIP 78537 has 39,454 at 244 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 78596 reports a median household income of $58,411 against $40,668 in ZIP 78537, with per-capita income of $24,540 vs $15,590. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.2% in 78596 and 10.4% in 78537. Poverty rate reads 22.1% vs 37.0%, and unemployment 5.6% vs 9.8% — 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 $104,000 in 78596 versus $81,900 in 78537, with median rent of $936 and $763 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.0% vs 74.2%. 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.