Neighborhood Profile
ZIP Code 77038 — Houston, TX
A snapshot of the people, housing, and geography behind the postal code 77038. A sizable suburban ZIP in Harris, Texas.
About ZIP 77038
ZIP code 77038 serves Houston in Harris, Texas. It centers near 29.9196°, -95.4386° and, by population, qualifies as a sizable suburban ZIP. Roughly 32,142 people are estimated to live within its boundaries based on the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2018–2022).
The median household earns about $47,682 per year here. The typical owner-occupied home is valued near $163,300, and asking rents on the open market sit around $1,189 per month. Compared to the rest of Texas, that makes 77038 noticeably pricier than the state average. Looking at the entire state, the average ZIP code reports a median income closer to $47,840 and a median home value of $137,461.
The median resident is around 29.7 years old, and roughly 3.7% of the population holds at least a bachelor's degree. Unemployment estimates from the same Census release put the share of unemployed adults around 1.4% of the total population (the labor-force-only rate is higher, since not every resident is counted as "in the labor force").
Cost of living read
If you're considering a move into 77038, the most useful exercise is to compare the housing math against your current ZIP. Here, a typical home runs $163,300 and a typical rental runs $1,189 a month. Translate that into your own budget:
- At a 7% 30-year mortgage with 20% down, financing the median home here lands monthly principal & interest near $869 — before property tax, insurance, or HOA dues.
- Renting the median unit at $1,189/mo costs roughly $14,268 per year, or about 29.9% of the local median household income.
- For movers from substantially cheaper or more expensive metros, the home-value gap (+$25,839 versus the state average of $137,461) is often the single biggest line item to plan for.
Who lives here
The age and education profile of a ZIP tells you a lot about what daily life feels like there. With a median age of 29.7 and a population of 32,142, ZIP 77038 reads as younger-skewing — closer to a college town, early-career city neighborhood, or family-formation suburb. The bachelor's-degree share around 3.7% is on the lower end, often reflecting trade-economy or rural labor markets.
Geography & nearby ZIPs
This ZIP centers at 29.9196, -95.4386. The eight closest neighboring ZIP codes are listed below — useful if you're scoping out the surrounding area, comparing schools, or just want a feel for the broader neighborhood than this one boundary captures.
Race & ethnicity (2019–2023 ACS)
The U.S. Census Bureau's 2019–2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates (table B03002) count 31,271 people in this ZIP Code Tabulation Area — a newer, supplemental release added alongside the core figures above. See the methodology page for why the core figures themselves have not yet been refreshed to this vintage.
| Group | Count | % of total |
|---|---|---|
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 22,004 | 70.4% |
| White alone (not Hispanic or Latino) | 1,064 | 3.4% |
| Black or African American alone (not Hispanic or Latino) | 6,641 | 21.2% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native alone (not Hispanic or Latino) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Asian alone (not Hispanic or Latino) | 1,384 | 4.4% |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (not Hispanic or Latino) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Some other race alone (not Hispanic or Latino) | 0 | 0.0% |
| Two or more races (not Hispanic or Latino) | 178 | 0.6% |
Poverty status (2019–2023 ACS)
Of the 31,271 residents here for whom the Census Bureau determines poverty status (table B17001), 7,926 (25.3%) were below the poverty line in the past 12 months.
Commuting (2019–2023 ACS)
Among the 12,167 workers age 16+ here who did not work from home (table B08303), the Census Bureau's own travel-time brackets break down like this:
| Travel time to work | Workers | % of workers |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 5 minutes | 23 | 0.2% |
| 5 to 9 minutes | 648 | 5.3% |
| 10 to 14 minutes | 463 | 3.8% |
| 15 to 19 minutes | 1,334 | 11.0% |
| 20 to 24 minutes | 1,202 | 9.9% |
| 25 to 29 minutes | 660 | 5.4% |
| 30 to 34 minutes | 4,262 | 35.0% |
| 35 to 39 minutes | 227 | 1.9% |
| 40 to 44 minutes | 477 | 3.9% |
| 45 to 59 minutes | 1,616 | 13.3% |
| 60 to 89 minutes | 1,140 | 9.4% |
| 90 minutes or more | 115 | 0.9% |
Housing occupancy (2019–2023 ACS)
Of the 9,134 housing units counted here (table B25002), 8,786 (96.2%) were occupied and 348 (3.8%) were vacant.
How to use this profile
Treat ZipLocal Guide as a starting point — never the final word — when you're researching a relocation. The Census ACS data on this page are reliable medians for the ZIP code tabulation area, but they tell you nothing about which side of the freeway you should live on, which streets the local high schoolers actually walk to school, or how the neighborhood has changed since the 2022 estimate window. For those, walk the area, talk to people on the street, and verify your assumptions with a local agent or community group.
If you find this neighborhood interesting, the easiest next step is to view all ZIPs in Houston or browse the rest of Texas.