ZIP 98418 vs ZIP 98408

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98418 (Tacoma, WA) and ZIP 98408 (Tacoma, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98418 has a population of 10,069 at 2,310 people per square mile, while ZIP 98408 has 18,830 at 2,150 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 98418 reports a median household income of $89,706 against $80,899 in ZIP 98408, with per-capita income of $40,256 vs $38,092. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.7% in 98418 and 25.6% in 98408. Poverty rate reads 12.3% vs 8.6%, and unemployment 6.2% vs 9.9% — 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 $413,400 in 98418 versus $410,500 in 98408, with median rent of $1,639 and $1,654 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.8% vs 71.3%. 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.