ZIP 98266 vs ZIP 98295

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98266 (Maple Falls, WA) and ZIP 98295 (Sumas, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98266 has a population of 3,642 at 59 people per square mile, while ZIP 98295 has 2,409 at 32 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 98266 reports a median household income of $51,361 against $98,965 in ZIP 98295, with per-capita income of $25,845 vs $35,724. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.4% in 98266 and 18.2% in 98295. Poverty rate reads 16.5% vs 4.9%, and unemployment 6.4% vs 2.7% — 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 $421,200 in 98266 versus $456,200 in 98295, with median rent of $1,343 and $1,376 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 75.8% vs 58.4%. 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.