78521 ZIP Code
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ZIP code 78521 covers Brownsville, Texas, with a population of about 87,860 and a median household income of $41,276.
- Population
- 87,860937 per square mile
- Median age
- 31.57.2 points below the US average
- Median household income
- $41,27646% below the Texas median
- Poverty rate
- 30.6%18.2 points above the US average
- Typical home value
- $172,838up 35.7% in five years
- Median rent
- $86435% below the Texas median
- Degree or higher
- 14.8%20.2 points below the US average
- Homeownership
- 59.4%5.6 points below the US average
- Time zone
- Central UTC-06:00observes daylight saving time
- Businesses
- 1,358
Where 78521 is
Brownsville, Texas — the area the Census Bureau draws for this ZIP code. ZIP codes are sets of delivery routes rather than areas, so this is the Census approximation of one, not a Postal Service boundary.
People and households
American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates
| Population | 87,860 |
|---|---|
| Median age | 31.5 |
| Family households | 76.7% |
| Born outside the US | 30.5% |
| Speaks a language other than English at home | 87.9% |
| White (non-Hispanic) | 3% |
| Black (non-Hispanic) | 0% |
| Asian (non-Hispanic) | 0.2% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 96.6% |
| Veterans | 1.9% |
Income and poverty
American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates
| Median household income | $41,276 |
|---|---|
| Income per person | $18,407 |
| Poverty rate | 30.6% |
| Households on SNAP or cash assistance | 34.4% |
Household income distribution
| Under $10k | |
|---|---|
| $10–15k | |
| $15–20k | |
| $20–25k | |
| $25–30k | |
| $30–35k | |
| $35–40k | |
| $40–45k | |
| $45–50k | |
| $50–60k | |
| $60–75k | |
| $75–100k | |
| $100–125k | |
| $125–150k | |
| $150–200k | |
| $200k or more |
Income as declared to the IRS
Filed returns rather than survey responses, so this counts tax units and not households.
| Tax returns filed | 38,820 |
|---|---|
| Mean adjusted gross income | $40,642 |
| Returns declaring $200,000 or more | 1.3% |
| Returns, under $25k | 46.5% |
| Returns, $25k–$50k | 30.4% |
| Returns, $50k–$75k | 12.0% |
| Returns, $75k–$100k | 5.0% |
| Returns, $100k–$200k | 4.9% |
| Returns, $200k or more | 1.3% |
Housing
American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates
| Median home value | $90,500 |
|---|---|
| Median gross rent | $864 |
| Rent as a share of household income | 30.5% |
| Owner-occupied | 59.4% |
| Vacant homes | 7.1% |
| Median year built | 1989 |
What the homes are
| Detached house | |
|---|---|
| Attached house | |
| 2 to 4 units | |
| 5 to 19 units | |
| 20 or more units | |
| Mobile home | |
| Boat, RV or van |
Home values and rents today
Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index, courtesy of Zillow. Monthly and current, where the Census figures above are a five-year average and are capped at $2,000,000.
| Typical home value | $172,838as of 2026-07 |
|---|---|
| Typical home value, 1 year | up 1.8% |
| Typical home value, 5 years | up 35.7% |
| Typical home value, 10 years | up 87.2% |
| Typical asking rent | $1,424as of 2026-07 |
| Typical asking rent, 1 year | up 4.5% |
$78,035 in 2001 to $172,838 in 2026.
Work, commuting and education
American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates
| Unemployment rate | 6.7% |
|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 14.8% |
| High school diploma or higher | 61.6% |
| Works from home | 7.6% |
| Drives to work alone | 76.5% |
| Takes public transport | 1.1% |
| Commutes 45 minutes or more | 7.6% |
Health
CDC PLACES 2025 release, model-based estimates. These are modelled small-area estimates for adults, not counts of diagnosed cases.
| Obesity | 42.8% 9.4 pts above the national average of 33.4% |
|---|---|
| Diagnosed diabetes | 20.7% 8.7 pts above the national average of 12% |
| Currently smokes | 15.4% 2.2 pts above the national average of 13.2% |
| High blood pressure | 35.3% 1.2 pts above the national average of 34.1% |
| Fair or poor general health | 36.9% 16.6 pts above the national average of 20.3% |
| No health insurance (18–64) | 41.6% 30.3 pts above the national average of 11.3% |
| Depression | 19.8% 2.1 pts below the national average of 21.9% |
| No leisure-time physical activity | 42.3% 16.9 pts above the national average of 25.4% |
| Arthritis | 20.7% 4.4 pts below the national average of 25.1% |
| Binge drinking | 14.7% 1.3 pts below the national average of 16% |
| Taking blood pressure medication | 75.6% 0.9 pts above the national average of 74.7% |
| Cancer (non-skin) | 4.4% 3.3 pts below the national average of 7.7% |
| Current asthma | 9.1% 1.3 pts below the national average of 10.4% |
| Coronary heart disease | 7.8% 1.6 pts above the national average of 6.2% |
| Routine check-up in past year | 71% 5.7 pts below the national average of 76.7% |
| Cholesterol screening | 80.5% 5.4 pts below the national average of 85.9% |
| Cognitive disability | 21.2% 6.4 pts above the national average of 14.8% |
| Colorectal screening | 47.5% 16.8 pts below the national average of 64.3% |
| COPD | 7.2% 0.6 pts above the national average of 6.6% |
| Visited a dentist | 41.4% 19.9 pts below the national average of 61.3% |
| Any disability | 41.2% 10.5 pts above the national average of 30.7% |
| Hearing disability | 8.6% 1.9 pts above the national average of 6.7% |
| High cholesterol | 37.3% 1.1 pts above the national average of 36.2% |
| Independent living disability | 13.5% 5.1 pts above the national average of 8.4% |
| Mammography use | 69.2% 6.7 pts below the national average of 75.9% |
| Poor mental health (14+ days) | 17.9% 1.1 pts above the national average of 16.8% |
| Mobility disability | 22.1% 8.1 pts above the national average of 14% |
| Poor physical health (14+ days) | 18.6% 5.1 pts above the national average of 13.5% |
| Self-care disability | 8.2% 4.2 pts above the national average of 4% |
| Sleeps under 7 hours | 41.4% 5 pts above the national average of 36.4% |
| Stroke | 4.4% 1 pts above the national average of 3.4% |
| All natural teeth lost | 21.4% 8.4 pts above the national average of 13% |
| Vision disability | 14.3% 8.7 pts above the national average of 5.6% |
Business and employment
Census ZIP Code Business Patterns 2022
| Business establishments | 1,358 |
|---|---|
| People employed | 25,012 |
| Annual payroll | $837,179,000 |
Natural hazard risk
FEMA National Risk Index, estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data — the NRI is not published per ZIP.
| Overall risk | Higher than 71.9% of US census tracts |
|---|---|
| FEMA rating | Very Low to Relatively High across the 31 census tracts this ZIP code covers |
| Expected annual loss | 64.3 out of 100 |
| Community resilience | 2.6 out of 100 |
By hazard
Score is out of 100 and is the area-weighted average across the census tracts this ZIP code covers. The rating beside it is the highest any one of those tracts carries.
| Hurricane | 95.2Very High at its worst in this ZIP code |
|---|---|
| Cold wave | 91.7Very High at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Wildfire | 83.3Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Coastal flooding | 80.9Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Drought | 75.3Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Heat wave | 70.7Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Hail | 70.3Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Ice storm | 69.5Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Winter weather | 47.9Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Landslide | 41.7Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Strong wind | 41.4Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Tornado | 38.1Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Lightning | 35Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code |
| River flooding | 26.2Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code |
| Earthquake | 10.8Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code |
Compared with Texas and the United States
State and national columns are figures for those areas, not for this ZIP code. American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates
| This ZIP | Texas | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $41,276 | $76,292 | $78,538 |
| Income per person | $18,407 | $39,446 | $43,289 |
| Poverty rate | 30.6% | 13.8% | 12.4% |
| Median home value | $90,500 | $260,400 | $303,400 |
| Median gross rent | $864 | $1,339 | $1,348 |
| Homeownership | 59.4% | 62.6% | 65% |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 14.8% | 33.1% | 35% |
| Unemployment rate | 6.7% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Works from home | 7.6% | 12.8% | 13.5% |
| Born outside the US | 30.5% | 17.2% | 13.9% |
| Median age | 31.5 | 35.5 | 38.7 |
Climate
NOAA US Climate Normals 1991-2020, from the nearest weather station with a full year of records. The station and its distance are named above, because a station forty kilometres away describes somewhere else.
| Weather station | WFO BROWNSVILLE, TX US4.2 km away |
|---|
Average high and low by month
| January | 70.4°F / 50.5°F |
|---|---|
| February | 74.6°F / 55.1°F |
| March | 78.2°F / 60.5°F |
| April | 84.6°F / 66.8°F |
| May | 87.2°F / 72.9°F |
| June | 91.7°F / 75.7°F |
| July | 91.9°F / 76.4°F |
| August | 94.3°F / 77°F |
| September | 89.7°F / 73.2°F |
| October | 85.3°F / 67.3°F |
| November | 77.6°F / 58.7°F |
| December | 71.8°F / 52.6°F |
Access to food
USDA Food Access Research Atlas, estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data. Each figure is the share of the ZIP code's land area that falls in a tract carrying that flag.
| Low income and far from a supermarket | 94% of this ZIP code's area |
|---|---|
| Far from a supermarket | 97% of this ZIP code's area |
| No vehicle and far from a supermarket | 30% of this ZIP code's area |
School districts
NCES Geographic Relationship File 2025, which states the association between each district and each ZIP code tabulation area directly. Elementary and secondary districts can cover the same ground, so shares need not total 100%.
This ZIP code is served by 2 school districts, so the address decides which one, not the ZIP code.
| Point Isabel Independent School District | 54.3% of this ZIP code's land area |
|---|---|
| Brownsville Independent School District | 45.7% of this ZIP code's land area |
Community and walkability
CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index 2022 and the EPA National Walkability Index, both estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data. Vulnerability figures are national percentile ranks, not measurements.
| Overall social vulnerability | 85more vulnerable than 85% of US census tracts |
|---|---|
| Socioeconomic status | 84more vulnerable than 84% of US census tracts |
| Household characteristics | 86more vulnerable than 86% of US census tracts |
| Racial and ethnic minority status | 97more vulnerable than 97% of US census tracts |
| Housing type and transport | 55more vulnerable than 55% of US census tracts |
| Walkability | 4.9 out of 20Least walkable |
Nearby ZIP codes
The closest ZIP codes by centre point, which is not the same as sharing a border.
| 78522 Brownsville, TX | 4.3 km away |
|---|---|
| 78526 Brownsville, TX | 5.6 km away |
| 78520 Brownsville, TX | 5.8 km away |
| 78523 Brownsville, TX | 8.9 km away |
| 78575 Olmito, TX | 15.4 km away |
| 78578 Port Isabel, TX | 20.9 km away |
| 78566 Los Fresnos, TX | 22.1 km away |
| 78586 San Benito, TX | 29.8 km away |
Location, counties and time zone
County shares from Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files. Time zone from the USDOT National Transportation Atlas, which renders the boundaries written into 49 CFR Part 71.
| Cameron County | 100% of this ZIP code's land area |
|---|---|
| Time zone | Central (UTC-06:00 standard) |
| Daylight saving time | Observed |
| Land area | 93.74 sq mi |
| Water area | 27.75 sq mi |
| Population density | 937 people per sq mi |
| Latitude, longitude | 25.9221, -97.4612 |
Figures are published for this ZIP code or its Census tabulation area unless a section says otherwise. Estimates whose margin of error made them unreliable are omitted rather than shown. Sources: US Census Bureau, CDC, IRS.