ZIP 98039 vs ZIP 98004

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98039 (Medina, WA) and ZIP 98004 (Bellevue, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98039 has a population of 2,971 at 795 people per square mile, while ZIP 98004 has 27,946 at 1,532 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 98039 reports a median household income of $250,001 against $182,545 in ZIP 98004, with per-capita income of $171,315 vs $132,758. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 87.6% in 98039 and 78.7% in 98004. Poverty rate reads 4.7% vs 5.3%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 4.1% — 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 $2,000,001 in 98039 versus $2,000,001 in 98004, with median rent of $3,501 and $2,803 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.5% vs 36.4%. 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.