ZIP 98498 vs ZIP 98467

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98498 (Lakewood, WA) and ZIP 98467 (University Place, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98498 has a population of 27,546 at 1,262 people per square mile, while ZIP 98467 has 14,728 at 1,248 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 98498 reports a median household income of $91,664 against $91,354 in ZIP 98467, with per-capita income of $50,374 vs $46,881. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.8% in 98498 and 39.8% in 98467. Poverty rate reads 8.1% vs 10.3%, and unemployment 3.6% vs 3.8% — 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 $506,300 in 98498 versus $623,800 in 98467, with median rent of $1,711 and $1,663 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 63.9% vs 59.8%. 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.