ZIP 98243 vs ZIP 98286

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98243 (Deer Harbor, WA) and ZIP 98286 (Shaw Island, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98243 has a population of 507 at 38 people per square mile, while ZIP 98286 has 240 at 12 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 98243 reports a median household income of $139,167 against $74,250 in ZIP 98286, with per-capita income of $89,368 vs $45,626. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 72.1% in 98243 and 44.3% in 98286. Poverty rate reads 3.7% vs 9.7%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 0.0% — 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 $1,094,800 in 98243 versus $675,000 in 98286, with median rent of $1,125 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 66.7% vs 72.4%. 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.