ZIP 98329 vs ZIP 98394

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98329 (Gig Harbor, WA) and ZIP 98394 (Vaughn, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98329 has a population of 10,545 at 158 people per square mile, while ZIP 98394 has 1,107 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 98329 reports a median household income of $110,316 against — in ZIP 98394, with per-capita income of $48,833 vs $52,398. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.6% in 98329 and 30.8% in 98394. Poverty rate reads 4.8% vs 26.3%, and unemployment 4.6% vs 7.6% — 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 $518,700 in 98329 versus $572,400 in 98394, with median rent of $1,755 and $843 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.2% vs 85.3%. 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.