ZIP 98902 vs ZIP 98951

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98902 (Yakima, WA) and ZIP 98951 (Wapato, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98902 has a population of 46,322 at 1,980 people per square mile, while ZIP 98951 has 13,739 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 98902 reports a median household income of $63,092 against $63,356 in ZIP 98951, with per-capita income of $30,006 vs $22,556. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.6% in 98902 and 11.6% in 98951. Poverty rate reads 16.7% vs 21.1%, and unemployment 9.1% vs 8.6% — 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 $263,200 in 98902 versus $230,400 in 98951, with median rent of $1,093 and $899 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 50.9% vs 54.5%. 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.