ZIP 98031 vs ZIP 98030

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98031 (Kent, WA) and ZIP 98030 (Kent, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98031 has a population of 36,581 at 1,882 people per square mile, while ZIP 98030 has 33,769 at 1,829 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 98031 reports a median household income of $105,965 against $91,761 in ZIP 98030, with per-capita income of $46,315 vs $38,046. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.1% in 98031 and 27.0% in 98030. Poverty rate reads 10.4% vs 7.1%, and unemployment 6.5% 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 $611,600 in 98031 versus $582,400 in 98030, with median rent of $1,991 and $1,899 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 67.2% vs 52.2%. 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.