ZIP 98274 vs ZIP 98235

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98274 (Mount Vernon, WA) and ZIP 98235 (Clearlake, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98274 has a population of 16,613 at 45 people per square mile, while ZIP 98235 has 103 at 1,297 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 98274 reports a median household income of $96,177 against $63,307 in ZIP 98235, with per-capita income of $46,451 vs $37,202. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 34.6% in 98274 and 6.4% in 98235. Poverty rate reads 10.7% vs 25.2%, and unemployment 2.8% vs 2.0% — 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 $547,700 in 98274 versus $518,900 in 98235, with median rent of $1,869 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.3% vs 74.1%. 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.