ZIP 99320 vs ZIP 99353

This side-by-side compares ZIP 99320 (Benton City, WA) and ZIP 99353 (West Richland, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 99320 has a population of 9,201 at 26 people per square mile, while ZIP 99353 has 13,306 at 197 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 99320 reports a median household income of $90,102 against $121,845 in ZIP 99353, with per-capita income of $39,599 vs $45,797. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 18.0% in 99320 and 39.1% in 99353. Poverty rate reads 10.2% vs 8.0%, and unemployment 5.2% vs 4.5% — 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 $373,500 in 99320 versus $450,500 in 99353, with median rent of $881 and $1,546 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.3% vs 83.9%. 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.