ZIP 98577 vs ZIP 98640

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98577 (Raymond, WA) and ZIP 98640 (Ocean Park, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98577 has a population of 6,338 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 98640 has 4,380 at 83 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 98577 reports a median household income of $63,780 against $65,735 in ZIP 98640, with per-capita income of $36,110 vs $45,525. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.9% in 98577 and 27.1% in 98640. Poverty rate reads 9.7% vs 11.2%, and unemployment 4.5% 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 $276,500 in 98577 versus $355,400 in 98640, with median rent of $775 and $1,220 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 84.8% vs 87.3%. 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.