ZIP 98645 vs ZIP 98611

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98645 (Silverlake, WA) and ZIP 98611 (Castle Rock, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98645 has a population of 1,429 at 37 people per square mile, while ZIP 98611 has 9,133 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 98645 reports a median household income of $101,429 against $86,322 in ZIP 98611, with per-capita income of $50,854 vs $37,729. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 37.5% in 98645 and 14.9% in 98611. Poverty rate reads 9.7% vs 8.5%, and unemployment 5.1% vs 4.7% — 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 $509,500 in 98645 versus $425,700 in 98611, with median rent of — and $1,250 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 95.7% vs 83.8%. 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.