ZIP 97103 vs ZIP 97138

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97103 (Astoria, OR) and ZIP 97138 (Seaside, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97103 has a population of 16,859 at 44 people per square mile, while ZIP 97138 has 10,021 at 30 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 97103 reports a median household income of $75,147 against $60,411 in ZIP 97138, with per-capita income of $39,421 vs $46,652. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.1% in 97103 and 32.6% in 97138. Poverty rate reads 14.1% vs 14.8%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 6.9% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $460,100 in 97103 versus $483,800 in 97138, with median rent of $1,259 and $1,086 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 65.6% vs 58.3%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.