ZIP 78606 vs ZIP 78636

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78606 (Blanco, TX) and ZIP 78636 (Johnson City, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78606 has a population of 5,205 at 8 people per square mile, while ZIP 78636 has 3,749 at 4 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 78606 reports a median household income of $94,817 against $72,663 in ZIP 78636, with per-capita income of $56,036 vs $43,517. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 36.3% in 78606 and 32.1% in 78636. Poverty rate reads 9.4% vs 8.9%, and unemployment 4.7% vs 6.8% — 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 $437,600 in 78606 versus $532,600 in 78636, with median rent of $963 and $1,123 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.1% vs 70.0%. 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.