ZIP 78948 vs ZIP 78942

This side-by-side compares ZIP 78948 (Lincoln, TX) and ZIP 78942 (Giddings, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 78948 has a population of 850 at 5 people per square mile, while ZIP 78942 has 8,989 at 17 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 78948 reports a median household income of $58,889 against $73,429 in ZIP 78942, with per-capita income of $42,201 vs $31,795. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 15.5% in 78948 and 20.1% in 78942. Poverty rate reads 4.9% vs 14.4%, and unemployment 5.1% vs 8.2% — 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 $316,100 in 78948 versus $255,700 in 78942, with median rent of $875 and $1,088 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.7% 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.