ZIP 99130 vs ZIP 99161

This side-by-side compares ZIP 99130 (Garfield, WA) and ZIP 99161 (Palouse, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 99130 has a population of 828 at 4 people per square mile, while ZIP 99161 has 1,400 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 99130 reports a median household income of $82,000 against $87,464 in ZIP 99161, with per-capita income of $37,059 vs $41,839. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.2% in 99130 and 45.8% in 99161. Poverty rate reads 13.5% vs 2.7%, and unemployment 2.9% vs 0.4% — 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 $232,100 in 99130 versus $302,600 in 99161, with median rent of $906 and $922 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 80.6% vs 81.5%. 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.