Even among the very wealthy, there is income disparity. That’s one of the takeaways from the list of the ten wealthiest zip codes in Texas that the Houston Chronicle compiled, based on Census data. Another takeaway: Wow, a lot of wealthy people live in the Houston and Dallas areas.
But first, income inequality among the rich is a real thing! That’s very clear from the list, which places the West University section at the top, with a mean income of $240,000 per household in the 77005. That’s a whole lot of money for the average family to pull down, and it’s almost $50,000 more than the mean household income in Austin’s Westlake Hills neighborhood, where families have to scrape by on a mere $191,000 per year.
In fact, the list highlights just how poor the very rich in Austin are, compared to their counterparts in the rest of the state: West Lake Hills residents are the wealthiest in Austin, and they come in at the very bottom of this list, meaning that if that neighborhood were located in the Houston area, it would barely crack the top five in terms of wealth. It really gives you some perspective.
78746 is the only zip code in the Austin area to qualify for the list, a fact that presumably has residents consoling themselves with their gorgeous views, enormous (though smaller than Houston-sized) swimming pools, and binging on caviar or whatever it is people like that eat.
The bulk of the list is made up of neighborhoods in the cities themselves: Houston’s West University and 77024 sections are both on the list, as are Dallas’ Highland Park and University Park. Northwest San Antonio’s 78257 also places—an area of town just to the east of Fiesta Texas—and the aforementioned West Lake Hills in Austin is there, as well. There are a few suburbs that pop up too. 77094, which represents Katy and Houston’s Energy Corridor, places at #8, while 76034, which houses the DFW Metroplex’s Colleyville, comes in at #7. 77401, where Houston’s Bellaire resides, takes the #6 spot, while 75225—Dallas’ Southlake—scores at #3.
It’s not exactly a surprise that all of the zip codes listed come from the four largest cities in Texas, either. There are certainly wealthy parts of town in the Valley, in El Paso, or in other West Texas cities, but the list actually does put in perspective what the difference between Houston- or Dallas-rich is, compared to McAllen-rich.
