ZIP 98541 vs ZIP 98557

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98541 (Elma, WA) and ZIP 98557 (Mccleary, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98541 has a population of 10,101 at 18 people per square mile, while ZIP 98557 has 3,225 at 35 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 98541 reports a median household income of $78,816 against $78,594 in ZIP 98557, with per-capita income of $36,082 vs $33,922. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.2% in 98541 and 17.1% in 98557. Poverty rate reads 15.1% vs 14.1%, and unemployment 7.9% vs 10.4% — 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 $390,000 in 98541 versus $369,300 in 98557, with median rent of $974 and $987 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.7% vs 86.3%. 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.