ZIP 98057 vs ZIP 98055

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98057 (Renton, WA) and ZIP 98055 (Renton, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98057 has a population of 10,613 at 672 people per square mile, while ZIP 98055 has 21,904 at 1,765 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 98057 reports a median household income of $68,552 against $97,224 in ZIP 98055, with per-capita income of $49,543 vs $48,955. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 33.6% in 98057 and 39.5% in 98055. Poverty rate reads 14.2% vs 8.0%, and unemployment 3.8% vs 5.2% — 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 $648,800 in 98057 versus $602,800 in 98055, with median rent of $1,806 and $2,210 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 25.3% vs 54.8%. 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.