ZIP 98118 vs ZIP 98108

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98118 (Seattle, WA) and ZIP 98108 (Seattle, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98118 has a population of 42,731 at 2,639 people per square mile, while ZIP 98108 has 22,374 at 1,154 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 98118 reports a median household income of $113,762 against $95,780 in ZIP 98108, with per-capita income of $61,620 vs $49,789. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 51.9% in 98118 and 41.2% in 98108. Poverty rate reads 11.6% vs 19.6%, and unemployment 4.5% vs 4.7% — 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 $810,500 in 98118 versus $720,400 in 98108, with median rent of $1,839 and $1,465 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 57.1% vs 58.2%. 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.