ZIP 98821 vs ZIP 98815

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98821 (Dryden, WA) and ZIP 98815 (Cashmere, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98821 has a population of 519 at 109 people per square mile, while ZIP 98815 has 7,233 at 24 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 98821 reports a median household income of $134,233 against $88,108 in ZIP 98815, with per-capita income of $35,351 vs $43,769. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 0.0% in 98821 and 28.9% in 98815. Poverty rate reads 0.0% vs 6.8%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 2.9% — 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 — in 98821 versus $554,300 in 98815, with median rent of — and $1,116 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 4.5% vs 79.6%. 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.