ZIP 98499 vs ZIP 98438

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98499 (Lakewood, WA) and ZIP 98438 (Mcchord Afb, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98499 has a population of 29,750 at 1,244 people per square mile, while ZIP 98438 has 366 at 167 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 98499 reports a median household income of $67,292 against — in ZIP 98438, with per-capita income of $41,917 vs $27,455. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.5% in 98499 and 44.3% in 98438. Poverty rate reads 16.7% vs 53.4%, and unemployment 5.9% vs 0.0% — 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 $408,500 in 98499 versus — in 98438, with median rent of $1,473 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 37.9% vs 37.9%. 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.