ZIP 98136 vs ZIP 98126

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98136 (Seattle, WA) and ZIP 98126 (Seattle, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98136 has a population of 14,770 at 2,481 people per square mile, while ZIP 98126 has 20,698 at 2,610 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 98136 reports a median household income of $149,269 against $116,466 in ZIP 98126, with per-capita income of $89,774 vs $69,327. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 67.7% in 98136 and 61.1% in 98126. Poverty rate reads 5.6% vs 9.3%, and unemployment 3.9% vs 6.0% — 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 $925,000 in 98136 versus $783,700 in 98126, with median rent of $1,965 and $1,802 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.0% vs 60.6%. 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.