ZIP 98144 vs ZIP 98122

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98144 (Seattle, WA) and ZIP 98122 (Seattle, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98144 has a population of 26,881 at 3,054 people per square mile, while ZIP 98122 has 31,454 at 5,251 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 98144 reports a median household income of $96,969 against $106,886 in ZIP 98122, with per-capita income of $77,755 vs $92,135. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 61.4% in 98144 and 71.2% in 98122. Poverty rate reads 11.3% vs 12.9%, and unemployment 3.7% vs 6.2% — 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 $901,700 in 98144 versus $957,100 in 98122, with median rent of $1,812 and $1,991 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 45.5% vs 28.4%. 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.