ZIP 99031 vs ZIP 99039

This side-by-side compares ZIP 99031 (Spangle, WA) and ZIP 99039 (Waverly, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 99031 has a population of 1,137 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 99039 has 87 at 8 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 99031 reports a median household income of $98,182 against $65,909 in ZIP 99039, with per-capita income of $40,978 vs $26,822. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 26.3% in 99031 and 22.1% in 99039. Poverty rate reads 21.3% vs 6.0%, and unemployment 7.2% vs 0.0% — 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 $423,500 in 99031 versus $225,000 in 99039, with median rent of $1,183 and $1,000 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 91.8% vs 91.7%. 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.