ZIP 79244 vs ZIP 79256

This side-by-side compares ZIP 79244 (Matador, TX) and ZIP 79256 (Roaring Springs, TX) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 79244 has a population of 720 at 1 people per square mile, while ZIP 79256 has 319 at 1 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 79244 reports a median household income of $71,875 against $39,231 in ZIP 79256, with per-capita income of $33,350 vs $20,585. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.2% in 79244 and 15.8% in 79256. Poverty rate reads 15.1% vs 17.9%, and unemployment 1.4% vs 0.0% - 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 $88,400 in 79244 versus $65,800 in 79256, with median rent of $588 and $877 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.2% vs 75.5%. 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.