ZIP 98249 vs ZIP 98260

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98249 (Freeland, WA) and ZIP 98260 (Langley, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98249 has a population of 4,561 at 111 people per square mile, while ZIP 98260 has 5,278 at 77 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 98249 reports a median household income of $99,519 against $101,987 in ZIP 98260, with per-capita income of $63,963 vs $66,677. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 50.9% in 98249 and 55.7% in 98260. Poverty rate reads 8.2% vs 7.1%, and unemployment 2.2% vs 2.4% — 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 $627,400 in 98249 versus $678,400 in 98260, with median rent of $1,566 and $1,385 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.1% vs 84.4%. 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.