ZIP 78629 vs ZIP 78140

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78629 (Gonzales, TX) and ZIP 78140 (Nixon, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78629 has a population of 11,887 at 11 people per square mile, while ZIP 78140 has 3,380 at 9 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 78629 reports a median household income of $59,521 against $50,250 in ZIP 78140, with per-capita income of $27,422 vs $27,798. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 11.7% in 78629 and 6.2% in 78140. Poverty rate reads 18.1% vs 12.0%, and unemployment 4.5% vs 4.5% — 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 $206,700 in 78629 versus $85,200 in 78140, with median rent of $829 and $845 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 58.4% vs 73.5%. 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.