ZIP 78736 vs ZIP 78738

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78736 (Austin, TX) and ZIP 78738 (Austin, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78736 has a population of 6,946 at 93 people per square mile, while ZIP 78738 has 12,134 at 276 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 78736 reports a median household income of $93,805 against $183,048 in ZIP 78738, with per-capita income of $64,865 vs $99,621. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 57.2% in 78736 and 75.0% in 78738. Poverty rate reads 8.1% vs 3.8%, and unemployment 6.2% vs 3.3% — 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 $573,100 in 78736 versus $916,300 in 78738, with median rent of $1,830 and $1,983 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 66.0% vs 75.3%. 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.