ZIP 78735 vs ZIP 78749

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78735 (Austin, TX) and ZIP 78749 (Austin, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78735 has a population of 16,131 at 303 people per square mile, while ZIP 78749 has 34,449 at 1,321 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 78735 reports a median household income of $139,191 against $111,079 in ZIP 78749, with per-capita income of $90,784 vs $63,287. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 71.4% in 78735 and 67.3% in 78749. Poverty rate reads 8.1% vs 5.5%, and unemployment 5.9% vs 4.5% — 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 $867,500 in 78735 versus $585,200 in 78749, with median rent of $2,005 and $1,965 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 46.5% vs 58.6%. 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.