ZIP 98053 vs ZIP 98074

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98053 (Redmond, WA) and ZIP 98074 (Sammamish, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98053 has a population of 18,784 at 256 people per square mile, while ZIP 98074 has 25,748 at 932 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 98053 reports a median household income of $192,292 against $244,362 in ZIP 98074, with per-capita income of $99,820 vs $97,647. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 72.7% in 98053 and 79.9% in 98074. Poverty rate reads 5.6% vs 5.4%, and unemployment 5.7% vs 3.3% — 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 $1,213,600 in 98053 versus $1,366,900 in 98074, with median rent of $2,664 and $2,799 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.8% vs 83.7%. 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.