ZIP 99029 vs ZIP 99022

This side-by-side compares ZIP 99029 (Reardan, WA) and ZIP 99022 (Medical Lake, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 99029 has a population of 1,289 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 99022 has 8,820 at 49 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 99029 reports a median household income of $69,919 against $93,812 in ZIP 99022, with per-capita income of $32,213 vs $39,344. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.2% in 99029 and 34.3% in 99022. Poverty rate reads 12.7% vs 5.2%, and unemployment 13.1% vs 2.2% — 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 $343,700 in 99029 versus $389,700 in 99022, with median rent of $740 and $789 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.4% vs 78.9%. 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.