ZIP 78655 vs ZIP 78670

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78655 (Martindale, TX) and ZIP 78670 (Staples, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78655 has a population of 2,739 at 30 people per square mile, while ZIP 78670 has 168 at 23 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 78655 reports a median household income of $55,952 against $78,625 in ZIP 78670, with per-capita income of $29,805 vs $35,392. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.1% in 78655 and 33.8% in 78670. Poverty rate reads 16.5% vs 1.5%, and unemployment 13.0% vs 19.6% — 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 $269,900 in 78655 versus $244,100 in 78670, with median rent of $1,093 and $1,225 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 65.3% vs 72.3%. 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.