ZIP 98177 vs ZIP 98133

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98177 (Seattle, WA) and ZIP 98133 (Seattle, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98177 has a population of 19,030 at 1,297 people per square mile, while ZIP 98133 has 44,555 at 2,425 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 98177 reports a median household income of $169,918 against $93,662 in ZIP 98133, with per-capita income of $84,734 vs $59,200. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 67.6% in 98177 and 51.0% in 98133. Poverty rate reads 7.8% vs 11.4%, and unemployment 4.1% vs 5.0% — 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 $1,048,900 in 98177 versus $770,300 in 98133, with median rent of $2,252 and $1,802 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.0% vs 48.4%. 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.