ZIP 98284 vs ZIP 98263

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98284 (Sedro Woolley, WA) and ZIP 98263 (Lyman, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98284 has a population of 24,331 at 33 people per square mile, while ZIP 98263 has 76 at 181 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 98284 reports a median household income of $93,006 against $133,750 in ZIP 98263, with per-capita income of $42,294 vs $51,663. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 21.2% in 98284 and 4.6% in 98263. Poverty rate reads 11.7% vs 10.0%, and unemployment 4.5% vs 12.1% — 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 $482,500 in 98284 versus $400,000 in 98263, with median rent of $1,556 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 73.0% vs 90.7%. 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.