ZIP 98264 vs ZIP 98276

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98264 (Lynden, WA) and ZIP 98276 (Nooksack, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98264 has a population of 18,893 at 128 people per square mile, while ZIP 98276 has 450 at 851 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 98264 reports a median household income of $103,638 against $97,159 in ZIP 98276, with per-capita income of $46,257 vs $42,930. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.9% in 98264 and 19.4% in 98276. Poverty rate reads 9.8% vs 14.7%, and unemployment 3.4% vs 5.2% — 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 $609,100 in 98264 versus $524,300 in 98276, with median rent of $1,688 and $1,721 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 68.4% vs 85.6%. 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.