ZIP 98087 vs ZIP 98037

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98087 (Lynnwood, WA) and ZIP 98037 (Lynnwood, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98087 has a population of 29,976 at 2,079 people per square mile, while ZIP 98037 has 26,889 at 1,803 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 98087 reports a median household income of $106,693 against $107,281 in ZIP 98037, with per-capita income of $50,613 vs $50,318. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 40.9% in 98087 and 40.2% in 98037. Poverty rate reads 7.5% vs 13.4%, and unemployment 4.3% vs 3.7% — 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 $676,400 in 98087 versus $767,300 in 98037, with median rent of $2,127 and $1,871 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 52.0% vs 61.6%. 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.