ZIP 98056 vs ZIP 98178

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98056 (Renton, WA) and ZIP 98178 (Seattle, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98056 has a population of 32,489 at 1,666 people per square mile, while ZIP 98178 has 24,092 at 1,920 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 98056 reports a median household income of $113,688 against $99,505 in ZIP 98178, with per-capita income of $60,863 vs $49,953. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 43.6% in 98056 and 36.1% in 98178. Poverty rate reads 7.5% vs 9.9%, and unemployment 4.5% vs 6.1% — 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 $797,300 in 98056 versus $660,400 in 98178, with median rent of $2,061 and $1,869 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 54.3% vs 66.7%. 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.