Home age in ZIP 78503, McAllen, TX: median built 1998

Home age is not roof age, and the Census does not record replacements. ZIP 78503 in McAllen, TX: median home built 1998; 53.9% of homes (4,362) are older than 25 years and 13.1% (1,062) were built since 2010, out of 8,090 homes.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019 to 2023 (5-year estimates), retrieved October 9, 2026. Area = Census ZIP Code Tabulation Area 78503.

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Share of homes in ZIP 78503 by decade builtColumns from the pre-1940 decade on the left to 2020 and later on the right. pre-1940 1.9 percent; 1940s 0.1 percent; 1950s 1.5 percent; 1960s 1.5 percent; 1970s 11.9 percent; 1980s 20.2 percent; 1990s 16.8 percent; 2000s 33 percent; 2010s 11.4 percent; 2020+ 1.7 percentpre-1940: 157 homes, 1.9%1.9%pre-1940Hidalgo County: 1.1%1940s: 8 homes, 0.1%0.1%1940sHidalgo County: 1.1%1950s: 125 homes, 1.5%1.5%1950sHidalgo County: 2.1%1960s: 119 homes, 1.5%1.5%1960sHidalgo County: 3.9%1970s: 959 homes, 11.9%11.9%1970sHidalgo County: 9.7%1980s: 1,637 homes, 20.2%20.2%1980sHidalgo County: 15.8%1990s: 1,357 homes, 16.8%16.8%1990sHidalgo County: 19.0%2000s: 2,666 homes, 33.0%33%2000sHidalgo County: 27.8%2010s: 926 homes, 11.4%11.4%2010sHidalgo County: 18.0%2020+: 136 homes, 1.7%1.7%2020+Hidalgo County: 1.6%Built 1999 or earlier: 53.9% of homes (4,362)ZIP 78503, built before 2000built 2000 or laterHidalgo County

Share of the 8,090 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 78503 next to McAllen and Hidalgo County

IndicatorZIP 78503McAllenHidalgo CountyRank among 3 ZIPs of McAllen on this site
Housing units8,09054,461302,1733rd of 3 largest
Median year built1998199319992nd of 3 oldest
Built before 198016.9%25.8%17.9%
Built before 200053.9%no data52.6%2nd of 3 highest share
Built since 201013.1%no data19.6%
Owner-occupied homes58.4%59%67.6%2nd of 3 highest share
Single-family units71.8%69.3%no data
Median home value$130,100 (+/- $15,874)$173,800$124,0003rd of 3 highest
Median household income$48,765 (+/- $5,376)$60,165no data3rd 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 78503

BuiltShare of Hidalgo CountyShare of ZIPHomes in ZIP 78503
2020+1.6%1.7%136
2010s18.0%11.4%926
2000s27.8%33.0%2,666
1990s19.0%16.8%1,357
1980s15.8%20.2%1,637
1970s9.7%11.9%959
1960s3.9%1.5%119
1950s2.1%1.5%125
1940s1.1%0.1%8
pre-19401.1%1.9%157

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 78503

ZIP 78503 has 8,090 housing units: 4,362 (53.9%) were built before 2000, 1,062 (13.1%) in 2010 or later, and 2,666 (33%) in the 2000s, its largest era. The median year built is 1998 (McAllen: 1993), so 5 years newer than the city.

Housing mix and money, from the same survey: 58.4% of occupied homes are owner-occupied; 71.8% of units are single-family houses; the median owner-occupied home is valued at $130,100, give or take $15,874; median household income is $48,765, give or take $5,376; the ZIP holds 14.9% of the housing units the Census counts in McAllen, 8,090 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, 3,005 units (37.1%, built before 1990) would be past the 30-year top of the usual asphalt-shingle range, 1,357 (16.8%, the 1990s) would mostly sit past it, 2,666 (33%, the 2000s) would mostly be inside the 20 to 30 year window and 1,062 (13.1%, 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 78503

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 78503 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 78503 among McAllen’s ZIP areas

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

Closest ZIP areas

ZIPMilesMedian builtPre-2000
785013.7 N198571.8%
785048.0 N199952.8%
785399.1 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 78503: Edinburg, TX (11 miles), Harlingen, TX (34 miles), Brownsville, TX (50 miles).

Questions

How old are the homes in ZIP 78503?

Of the 8,090 housing units, 1,368 (16.9%) were built before 1980, 4,362 (53.9%) before 2000 and 1,062 (13.1%) from 2010 on (Census ACS 2019 to 2023, survey estimate).

Does a house's age tell me how old its roof is in 78503?

No. ACS records the year the structure was built, not the year the roof was last replaced. With 1,368 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, 78501 (3.7 miles N) has the largest share built before 2000, 71.8%, against 53.9% in 78503.

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.