ZIP 98531 vs ZIP 98532

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98531 (Centralia, WA) and ZIP 98532 (Chehalis, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98531 has a population of 24,121 at 68 people per square mile, while ZIP 98532 has 23,596 at 28 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 98531 reports a median household income of $63,406 against $89,910 in ZIP 98532, with per-capita income of $32,793 vs $40,109. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.1% in 98531 and 25.2% in 98532. Poverty rate reads 16.6% vs 8.8%, and unemployment 4.6% vs 4.4% — 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 $343,000 in 98531 versus $427,100 in 98532, with median rent of $1,130 and $1,142 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 65.7% vs 79.2%. 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.