ZIP 79109 vs ZIP 79118

This side-by-side compares ZIP 79109 (Amarillo, TX) and ZIP 79118 (Amarillo, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 79109 has a population of 43,516 at 1,608 people per square mile, while ZIP 79118 has 19,726 at 45 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 79109 reports a median household income of $70,435 against $87,810 in ZIP 79118, with per-capita income of $42,917 vs $37,723. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.3% in 79109 and 27.2% in 79118. Poverty rate reads 13.1% vs 7.6%, and unemployment 4.2% vs 2.5% — 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 $222,900 in 79109 versus $234,500 in 79118, with median rent of $986 and $1,348 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 57.8% vs 76.3%. 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.