ZIP 98923 vs ZIP 98908

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98923 (Cowiche, WA) and ZIP 98908 (Yakima, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98923 has a population of 1,434 at 92 people per square mile, while ZIP 98908 has 35,240 at 138 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 98923 reports a median household income of $47,776 against $84,197 in ZIP 98908, with per-capita income of $43,458 vs $40,591. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 31.0% in 98923 and 33.1% in 98908. Poverty rate reads 12.9% vs 10.1%, and unemployment 10.8% vs 5.3% — 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 $243,600 in 98923 versus $383,900 in 98908, with median rent of $924 and $1,367 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 53.4% vs 68.9%. 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.