ZIP 99166 vs ZIP 99138

This side-by-side compares ZIP 99166 (Republic, WA) and ZIP 99138 (Inchelium, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 99166 has a population of 3,222 at 2 people per square mile, while ZIP 99138 has 1,209 at 1 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 99166 reports a median household income of $56,676 against $50,833 in ZIP 99138, with per-capita income of $32,158 vs $26,817. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.7% in 99166 and 21.9% in 99138. Poverty rate reads 10.6% vs 23.7%, and unemployment 15.3% vs 23.1% - 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 $286,000 in 99166 versus $218,100 in 99138, with median rent of $810 and $535 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 79.0% vs 61.5%. 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.