ZIP 78739 vs ZIP 78652

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78739 (Austin, TX) and ZIP 78652 (Manchaca, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78739 has a population of 16,792 at 568 people per square mile, while ZIP 78652 has 4,466 at 100 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 78739 reports a median household income of $238,559 against $133,368 in ZIP 78652, with per-capita income of $90,618 vs $52,340. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 82.1% in 78739 and 48.2% in 78652. Poverty rate reads 2.7% vs 10.6%, and unemployment 1.5% vs 3.9% — 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 $808,600 in 78739 versus $528,100 in 78652, with median rent of $3,473 and $2,666 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 92.8% vs 87.1%. 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.