ZIP 78645 vs ZIP 78734

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78645 (Leander, TX) and ZIP 78734 (Austin, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78645 has a population of 9,773 at 119 people per square mile, while ZIP 78734 has 17,655 at 339 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 78645 reports a median household income of $113,008 against $130,784 in ZIP 78734, with per-capita income of $65,813 vs $87,042. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 45.9% in 78645 and 59.1% in 78734. Poverty rate reads 7.3% vs 5.9%, and unemployment 5.0% vs 1.8% — 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 $434,600 in 78645 versus $677,300 in 78734, with median rent of $1,608 and $1,851 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.8% vs 83.5%. 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.