ZIP 98682 vs ZIP 98661

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98682 (Vancouver, WA) and ZIP 98661 (Vancouver, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98682 has a population of 52,893 at 677 people per square mile, while ZIP 98661 has 41,740 at 1,517 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 98682 reports a median household income of $99,918 against $76,913 in ZIP 98661, with per-capita income of $43,369 vs $42,472. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.7% in 98682 and 28.5% in 98661. Poverty rate reads 9.1% vs 12.3%, and unemployment 5.1% vs 5.4% — 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 $462,700 in 98682 versus $451,500 in 98661, with median rent of $1,845 and $1,512 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 70.4% vs 42.7%. 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.