ZIP 98226 vs ZIP 98225

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