ZIP 98052 vs ZIP 98023

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98052 (Redmond, WA) and ZIP 98023 (Federal Way, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98052 has a population of 58,442 at 1,122 people per square mile, while ZIP 98023 has 47,510 at 1,775 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 98052 reports a median household income of $163,460 against $104,893 in ZIP 98023, with per-capita income of $93,065 vs $46,636. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 75.2% in 98052 and 33.9% in 98023. Poverty rate reads 5.5% vs 9.0%, and unemployment 4.7% vs 3.8% — 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 $1,180,600 in 98052 versus $589,900 in 98023, with median rent of $2,405 and $1,900 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 44.8% vs 65.6%. 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.