ZIP 98003 vs ZIP 98023

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98003 (Federal Way, WA) and ZIP 98023 (Federal Way, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98003 has a population of 44,151 at 1,466 people per square mile, while ZIP 98023 has 47,510 at 1,775 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 98003 reports a median household income of $75,319 against $104,893 in ZIP 98023, with per-capita income of $35,775 vs $46,636. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 27.6% in 98003 and 33.9% in 98023. Poverty rate reads 15.7% vs 9.0%, and unemployment 6.9% vs 3.8% — 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 $476,600 in 98003 versus $589,900 in 98023, with median rent of $1,723 and $1,900 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 46.9% vs 65.6%. 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.