ZIP 98225 vs ZIP 98226

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98225 (Bellingham, WA) and ZIP 98226 (Bellingham, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98225 has a population of 46,172 at 1,411 people per square mile, while ZIP 98226 has 41,235 at 148 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 98225 reports a median household income of $63,941 against $79,375 in ZIP 98226, with per-capita income of $42,441 vs $45,504. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 50.1% in 98225 and 39.7% in 98226. Poverty rate reads 23.2% vs 12.0%, and unemployment 6.7% vs 4.3% — 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 $631,200 in 98225 versus $607,600 in 98226, with median rent of $1,523 and $1,620 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 40.3% vs 62.4%. 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.