ZIP 78621 vs ZIP 78615

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78621 (Elgin, TX) and ZIP 78615 (Coupland, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78621 has a population of 21,659 at 45 people per square mile, while ZIP 78615 has 1,290 at 10 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 78621 reports a median household income of $98,534 against $80,938 in ZIP 78615, with per-capita income of $38,211 vs $33,785. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 24.3% in 78621 and 27.9% in 78615. Poverty rate reads 6.4% vs 5.4%, and unemployment 3.9% vs 5.2% — 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 $320,800 in 78621 versus $441,200 in 78615, with median rent of $1,387 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 81.1% vs 82.9%. 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.