ZIP 98238 vs ZIP 98273

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98238 (Conway, WA) and ZIP 98273 (Mount Vernon, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98238 has a population of 85 at 151 people per square mile, while ZIP 98273 has 28,717 at 132 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 98238 reports a median household income of — against $76,717 in ZIP 98273, with per-capita income of — vs $39,235. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 0.0% in 98238 and 26.7% in 98273. Poverty rate reads 0.0% vs 14.8%, and unemployment 0.0% 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 — in 98238 versus $492,300 in 98273, with median rent of — and $1,287 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 0.0% vs 61.4%. 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.