ZIP 97862 vs ZIP 99324

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97862 (Milton Freewater, OR) and ZIP 99324 (College Place, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97862 has a population of 11,666 at 16 people per square mile, while ZIP 99324 has 9,202 at 1,163 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 97862 reports a median household income of $54,786 against $62,839 in ZIP 99324, with per-capita income of $26,862 vs $34,308. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.8% in 97862 and 36.5% in 99324. Poverty rate reads 11.1% vs 10.6%, and unemployment 5.3% vs 6.1% — 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 $274,900 in 97862 versus $368,500 in 99324, with median rent of $902 and $1,188 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 60.6% vs 64.5%. 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.