ZIP 98126 vs ZIP 98106

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98126 (Seattle, WA) and ZIP 98106 (Seattle, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98126 has a population of 20,698 at 2,610 people per square mile, while ZIP 98106 has 22,873 at 1,604 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 98126 reports a median household income of $116,466 against $124,212 in ZIP 98106, with per-capita income of $69,327 vs $61,546. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 61.1% in 98126 and 48.0% in 98106. Poverty rate reads 9.3% vs 8.8%, and unemployment 6.0% vs 4.1% — 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 $783,700 in 98126 versus $706,600 in 98106, with median rent of $1,802 and $1,882 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 60.6% vs 58.7%. 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.