ZIP 78730 vs ZIP 78726

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78730 (Austin, TX) and ZIP 78726 (Austin, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78730 has a population of 7,955 at 211 people per square mile, while ZIP 78726 has 13,122 at 465 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 78730 reports a median household income of $158,673 against $90,885 in ZIP 78726, with per-capita income of $94,918 vs $64,177. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 73.6% in 78730 and 63.1% in 78726. Poverty rate reads 5.6% vs 14.0%, and unemployment 1.9% 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 $1,014,700 in 78730 versus $698,100 in 78726, with median rent of $1,860 and $1,738 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 65.9% vs 39.9%. 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.