ZIP 78609 vs ZIP 78607

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78609 (Buchanan Dam, TX) and ZIP 78607 (Bluffton, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78609 has a population of 2,012 at 33 people per square mile, while ZIP 78607 has 166 at 5 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 78609 reports a median household income of $64,418 against $58,594 in ZIP 78607, with per-capita income of $44,331 vs $20,156. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.2% in 78609 and 18.8% in 78607. Poverty rate reads 17.7% vs 6.8%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 16.0% — 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 $319,700 in 78609 versus $243,800 in 78607, with median rent of $651 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.2% vs 68.0%. 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.