ZIP 98032 vs ZIP 98198

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98032 (Kent, WA) and ZIP 98198 (Seattle, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98032 has a population of 33,853 at 781 people per square mile, while ZIP 98198 has 34,584 at 1,732 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 98032 reports a median household income of $82,636 against $86,239 in ZIP 98198, with per-capita income of $41,841 vs $41,819. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.1% in 98032 and 30.8% in 98198. Poverty rate reads 17.3% vs 12.9%, and unemployment 9.6% vs 7.2% — 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 $520,800 in 98032 versus $589,500 in 98198, with median rent of $1,862 and $1,814 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 42.7% vs 54.8%. 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.