ZIP 98026 vs ZIP 98020

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98026 (Edmonds, WA) and ZIP 98020 (Edmonds, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98026 has a population of 35,921 at 1,490 people per square mile, while ZIP 98020 has 18,304 at 1,365 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 98026 reports a median household income of $133,638 against $130,319 in ZIP 98020, with per-capita income of $66,456 vs $95,813. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 49.5% in 98026 and 61.7% in 98020. Poverty rate reads 5.6% vs 3.0%, and unemployment 3.7% vs 6.0% — 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 $821,700 in 98026 versus $1,031,500 in 98020, with median rent of $1,957 and $1,978 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.0% vs 74.9%. 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.