Home age in ZIP 78501, McAllen, TX: median built 1985

Home age is not roof age, and the Census does not record replacements. ZIP 78501 in McAllen, TX: median home built 1985; 71.8% of homes (17,814) are older than 25 years and 11.6% (2,883) were built since 2010, out of 24,807 homes.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019 to 2023 (5-year estimates), retrieved October 9, 2026. Area = Census ZIP Code Tabulation Area 78501.

Free roof inspection in McAllen

Tell us where the house is. One local roofer calls you, not five.

Add more details (optional)

* Required. We only ask for what a contractor needs to call you back.

Free for homeowners · No spam · One contractor at a time, not a group

Share of homes in ZIP 78501 by decade builtColumns from the pre-1940 decade on the left to 2020 and later on the right. pre-1940 3.1 percent; 1940s 2.3 percent; 1950s 4 percent; 1960s 8.5 percent; 1970s 22.1 percent; 1980s 19 percent; 1990s 12.9 percent; 2000s 16.6 percent; 2010s 11.3 percent; 2020+ 0.3 percentpre-1940: 760 homes, 3.1%3.1%pre-1940Hidalgo County: 1.1%1940s: 574 homes, 2.3%2.3%1940sHidalgo County: 1.1%1950s: 984 homes, 4.0%4%1950sHidalgo County: 2.1%1960s: 2,106 homes, 8.5%8.5%1960sHidalgo County: 3.9%1970s: 5,480 homes, 22.1%22.1%1970sHidalgo County: 9.7%1980s: 4,716 homes, 19.0%19%1980sHidalgo County: 15.8%1990s: 3,194 homes, 12.9%12.9%1990sHidalgo County: 19.0%2000s: 4,110 homes, 16.6%16.6%2000sHidalgo County: 27.8%2010s: 2,797 homes, 11.3%11.3%2010sHidalgo County: 18.0%2020+: 86 homes, 0.3%0.3%2020+Hidalgo County: 1.6%Built 1999 or earlier: 71.8% of homes (17,814)ZIP 78501, built before 2000built 2000 or laterHidalgo County

Share of the 24,807 housing units in the ZIP, by decade built. The red marks are Hidalgo County. This counts houses, not roofs: a roof is replaced several times in the life of a house, and no federal survey records when.

ZIP 78501 next to McAllen and Hidalgo County

IndicatorZIP 78501McAllenHidalgo CountyRank among 3 ZIPs of McAllen on this site
Housing units24,80754,461302,1731st of 3 largest
Median year built1985199319991st of 3 oldest
Built before 198039.9%25.8%17.9%
Built before 200071.8%no data52.6%1st of 3 highest share
Built since 201011.6%no data19.6%
Owner-occupied homes50.2%59%67.6%3rd of 3 highest share
Single-family units61%69.3%no data
Median home value$149,000 (+/- $8,072)$173,800$124,0002nd of 3 highest
Median household income$49,451 (+/- $3,065)$60,165no data2nd of 3 highest

City figures are for the Census place, county figures for the county; “no data” means the Census file does not publish that figure. Value and income are survey estimates, the plus-or-minus is the 90% margin of error.

Every decade in ZIP 78501

BuiltShare of Hidalgo CountyShare of ZIPHomes in ZIP 78501
2020+1.6%0.3%86
2010s18.0%11.3%2,797
2000s27.8%16.6%4,110
1990s19.0%12.9%3,194
1980s15.8%19.0%4,716
1970s9.7%22.1%5,480
1960s3.9%8.5%2,106
1950s2.1%4.0%984
1940s1.1%2.3%574
pre-19401.1%3.1%760

Counts are Census estimates of housing units by year built (table B25034). If a roof had never been replaced, it would be 3 to 6 years old on a house from the 2020s, 17 to 26 on one from the 2000s, 37 to 46 on one from the 1980s and 87 or more on one from before 1940. Most older houses have had at least one replacement, and the Census does not record when.

What the numbers say about ZIP 78501

ZIP 78501 has 24,807 housing units: 17,814 (71.8%) were built before 2000, 2,883 (11.6%) in 2010 or later, and 5,480 (22.1%) in the 1970s, its largest era. The median year built is 1985 (McAllen: 1993), so 8 years older than the city.

Housing mix and money, from the same survey: 50.2% of occupied homes are owner-occupied; 61% of units are single-family houses; the median owner-occupied home is valued at $149,000, give or take $8,072; median household income is $49,451, give or take $3,065; the ZIP holds 45.6% of the housing units the Census counts in McAllen, 24,807 of them. These are survey estimates with margins of error, and for a small ZIP the margin can be wide.

Reading this for roofs, carefully: the Census records when a house was built, never when its roof was last replaced. If every roof were still the one installed with its house, 14,620 units (58.9%, built before 1990) would be past the 30-year top of the usual asphalt-shingle range, 3,194 (12.9%, the 1990s) would mostly sit past it, 4,110 (16.6%, the 2000s) would mostly be inside the 20 to 30 year window and 2,883 (11.6%, 2010 onward) would be younger than it. Most older roofs have been replaced, so treat these as the pool of houses where an old roof is possible, not as a count of old roofs.

Roof age calculator for ZIP 78501

Enter the year your house was built, and the year the roof was last replaced if you know it. It starts at the median year built for this ZIP. The share of neighbours’ homes older than yours comes from this ZIP’s own decade counts.

–years old (roof)
–of homes in ZIP 78501 are older
–vs. the ZIP median year built

Material ranges are general planning figures (the same ones as on our roof-age page), not warranties. Sun, storms, attic ventilation and installation quality move them. The decade shares assume homes were built evenly within each decade. This is not an inspection: a roofer on the roof decides.

Map: ZIP 78501 among McAllen’s ZIP areas

Map of ZIP 78501 and nearby ZIP areas, shaded by the share of homes built before 2000ZIP 78504: 21,417 homes, 52.8% built before 2000, median year 199978504ZIP 78539: 15,759 homes, 48.1% built before 2000, median year 200178539ZIP 78503: 8,090 homes, 53.9% built before 2000, median year 199878503ZIP 78501: 24,807 homes, 71.8% built before 2000, median year 198578501
  • under 20% built before 2000
  • 40 to 60%
  • 80% or more
  • Dot size = housing units. Red ring = ZIP 78501. Click a dot to open that ZIP.

Closest ZIP areas

ZIPMilesMedian builtPre-2000
785033.7 S199853.9%
785044.3 N199952.8%
785395.7 NE200148.1%

Distance is between Census ZIP centres.

Storm backdrop: Hidalgo County

A ZIP is too small for its own hail record, so this is the county. FEMA’s National Risk Index rates Hidalgo County Relatively High overall (99.0 of 100), Very High for hail (99.2), Relatively High for strong wind (89.2) and Relatively High for tornado (96.0). NOAA logged 66 hail reports in the county, on 16 days with hail of 1 inch or more in the full years 2014 to 2025.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 version, county level. This product uses FEMA’s National Risk Index data but is not endorsed by FEMA.

Where to go from here

Other roofing cities near ZIP 78501: Edinburg, TX (8 miles), Harlingen, TX (34 miles), Brownsville, TX (51 miles).

Questions

How old are the homes in ZIP 78501?

Of the 24,807 housing units, 9,904 (39.9%) were built before 1980, 17,814 (71.8%) before 2000 and 2,883 (11.6%) from 2010 on (Census ACS 2019 to 2023, survey estimate).

Does a house's age tell me how old its roof is in 78501?

No. ACS records the year the structure was built, not the year the roof was last replaced. With 9,904 units built before 1980 in this ZIP, many roofs are replacements rather than originals. Ask the seller for permit records or have a roofer inspect the roof.

Which nearby ZIP has the oldest housing?

Of the 3 closest ZIP areas we cover, 78503 (3.7 miles S) has the largest share built before 2000, 53.9%, against 71.8% in 78501.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2019 to 2023, tables B25034 (year structure built), B25035, B25003, B25024, B25077 and B19013, ZIP Code Tabulation Areas; ZIP-to-city assignment from the Census 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file (a ZIP is assigned to a city when more than half of its land area lies inside it). A ZCTA is not a USPS ZIP code: it approximates one and can differ at the edges. Public domain. The 12 ZIP-specific figures above differ from ZIP to ZIP.

Information only, not a roof inspection. Pickaroofer does not know the condition of any individual roof.