ZIP 98038 vs ZIP 98027

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98038 (Maple Valley, WA) and ZIP 98027 (Issaquah, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98038 has a population of 31,171 at 181 people per square mile, while ZIP 98027 has 26,141 at 181 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 98038 reports a median household income of $152,261 against $153,301 in ZIP 98027, with per-capita income of $57,730 vs $85,051. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 49.0% in 98038 and 66.8% in 98027. Poverty rate reads 5.2% vs 5.5%, and unemployment 4.1% vs 3.7% — 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 $776,900 in 98038 versus $996,600 in 98027, with median rent of $2,316 and $2,400 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.6% vs 67.6%. 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.