ZIP 99005 vs ZIP 99218

This side-by-side compares ZIP 99005 (Colbert, WA) and ZIP 99218 (Spokane, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 99005 has a population of 8,574 at 83 people per square mile, while ZIP 99218 has 15,531 at 819 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 99005 reports a median household income of $125,530 against $80,733 in ZIP 99218, with per-capita income of $54,973 vs $41,802. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.4% in 99005 and 37.5% in 99218. Poverty rate reads 4.9% vs 11.9%, and unemployment 3.1% vs 4.1% — 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 $561,100 in 99005 versus $445,300 in 99218, with median rent of $1,313 and $1,203 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 90.9% vs 58.4%. 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.