ZIP 78652 vs ZIP 78739

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78652 (Manchaca, TX) and ZIP 78739 (Austin, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78652 has a population of 4,466 at 100 people per square mile, while ZIP 78739 has 16,792 at 568 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 78652 reports a median household income of $133,368 against $238,559 in ZIP 78739, with per-capita income of $52,340 vs $90,618. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 48.2% in 78652 and 82.1% in 78739. Poverty rate reads 10.6% vs 2.7%, and unemployment 3.9% vs 1.5% — 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 $528,100 in 78652 versus $808,600 in 78739, with median rent of $2,666 and $3,473 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.1% vs 92.8%. 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.