ZIP 98092 vs ZIP 98042

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98092 (Auburn, WA) and ZIP 98042 (Kent, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98092 has a population of 39,816 at 346 people per square mile, while ZIP 98042 has 43,673 at 593 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 98092 reports a median household income of $122,300 against $127,552 in ZIP 98042, with per-capita income of $49,137 vs $53,041. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 35.6% in 98092 and 34.6% in 98042. Poverty rate reads 6.8% vs 4.7%, and unemployment 4.8% vs 3.6% — 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 $635,900 in 98092 versus $658,500 in 98042, with median rent of $2,055 and $2,118 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.3% vs 82.3%. 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.