ZIP 98011 vs ZIP 98021

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98011 (Bothell, WA) and ZIP 98021 (Bothell, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98011 has a population of 29,212 at 1,375 people per square mile, while ZIP 98021 has 26,722 at 1,021 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 98011 reports a median household income of $131,667 against $183,786 in ZIP 98021, with per-capita income of $70,138 vs $79,080. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 60.5% in 98011 and 62.7% in 98021. Poverty rate reads 4.6% vs 3.9%, and unemployment 3.9% vs 3.4% — 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 $933,000 in 98011 versus $967,700 in 98021, with median rent of $2,294 and $2,655 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 57.9% vs 81.1%. 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.