ZIP 99109 vs ZIP 99181

This side-by-side compares ZIP 99109 (Chewelah, WA) and ZIP 99181 (Valley, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 99109 has a population of 5,109 at 7 people per square mile, while ZIP 99181 has 1,901 at 7 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 99109 reports a median household income of $62,391 against $63,661 in ZIP 99181, with per-capita income of $41,627 vs $33,905. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 22.1% in 99109 and 18.8% in 99181. Poverty rate reads 11.3% vs 11.4%, and unemployment 9.4% vs 5.1% — 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 $327,400 in 99109 versus $267,600 in 99181, with median rent of $869 and $845 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.9% vs 91.5%. 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.