ZIP 78731 vs ZIP 78757

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78731 (Austin, TX) and ZIP 78757 (Austin, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78731 has a population of 24,614 at 1,097 people per square mile, while ZIP 78757 has 21,310 at 1,674 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 78731 reports a median household income of $105,494 against $103,860 in ZIP 78757, with per-capita income of $94,483 vs $68,599. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 78.3% in 78731 and 67.8% in 78757. Poverty rate reads 6.0% vs 7.7%, and unemployment 4.6% vs 3.8% — 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 $903,200 in 78731 versus $655,900 in 78757, with median rent of $1,737 and $1,723 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 53.1% vs 59.9%. 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.