ZIP 98116 vs ZIP 98136

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98116 (Seattle, WA) and ZIP 98136 (Seattle, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98116 has a population of 22,241 at 2,903 people per square mile, while ZIP 98136 has 14,770 at 2,481 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 98116 reports a median household income of $126,151 against $149,269 in ZIP 98136, with per-capita income of $87,809 vs $89,774. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 67.0% in 98116 and 67.7% in 98136. Poverty rate reads 4.6% vs 5.6%, and unemployment 3.7% vs 3.9% — 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 $973,400 in 98116 versus $925,000 in 98136, with median rent of $2,075 and $1,965 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 49.7% vs 64.0%. 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.