ZIP 98528 vs ZIP 98524

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98528 (Belfair, WA) and ZIP 98524 (Allyn, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98528 has a population of 9,983 at 53 people per square mile, while ZIP 98524 has 3,232 at 87 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 98528 reports a median household income of $91,058 against $99,483 in ZIP 98524, with per-capita income of $40,673 vs $46,717. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.1% in 98528 and 29.6% in 98524. Poverty rate reads 7.9% vs 4.7%, and unemployment 6.4% vs 5.9% — 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 $430,200 in 98528 versus $526,800 in 98524, with median rent of $1,216 and $2,083 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.6% vs 94.6%. 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.