ZIP 78648 vs ZIP 78661

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78648 (Luling, TX) and ZIP 78661 (Prairie Lea, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78648 has a population of 7,683 at 20 people per square mile, while ZIP 78661 has 335 at 51 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 78648 reports a median household income of $57,621 against $82,896 in ZIP 78661, with per-capita income of $31,099 vs $26,002. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.2% in 78648 and 9.0% in 78661. Poverty rate reads 9.0% vs 29.2%, and unemployment 4.1% vs 4.3% — 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 $217,500 in 78648 versus $209,700 in 78661, with median rent of $1,038 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 69.6% vs 91.4%. 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.