ZIP 98390 vs ZIP 98372

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98390 (Sumner, WA) and ZIP 98372 (Puyallup, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98390 has a population of 10,461 at 417 people per square mile, while ZIP 98372 has 22,475 at 636 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 98390 reports a median household income of $97,795 against $98,152 in ZIP 98372, with per-capita income of $51,049 vs $48,325. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.6% in 98390 and 29.4% in 98372. Poverty rate reads 5.0% vs 5.5%, and unemployment 4.9% vs 5.1% — 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 $510,000 in 98390 versus $589,900 in 98372, with median rent of $1,969 and $1,783 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 55.4% vs 52.5%. 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.