ZIP 78602 vs ZIP 78621

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78602 (Bastrop, TX) and ZIP 78621 (Elgin, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78602 has a population of 25,160 at 50 people per square mile, while ZIP 78621 has 21,659 at 45 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 78602 reports a median household income of $89,968 against $98,534 in ZIP 78621, with per-capita income of $38,822 vs $38,211. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.6% in 78602 and 24.3% in 78621. Poverty rate reads 10.1% vs 6.4%, and unemployment 3.6% vs 3.9% — 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 $332,600 in 78602 versus $320,800 in 78621, with median rent of $1,449 and $1,387 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.8% vs 81.1%. 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.