ZIP 78654 vs ZIP 78611

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78654 (Marble Falls, TX) and ZIP 78611 (Burnet, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78654 has a population of 17,553 at 34 people per square mile, while ZIP 78611 has 12,977 at 18 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 78654 reports a median household income of $74,130 against $80,938 in ZIP 78611, with per-capita income of $44,210 vs $41,638. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.1% in 78654 and 29.6% in 78611. Poverty rate reads 8.6% vs 6.6%, and unemployment 3.1% vs 3.5% — 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 $358,400 in 78654 versus $319,300 in 78611, with median rent of $1,387 and $1,035 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 66.7% vs 80.3%. 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.