98498 — Lakewood, Washington
Area Profile
Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 98498. Its median household income runs 23% above Lakewood as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 15 sourcesEmployment conditions sit below most comparable ZIP areas measured: unemployment is 5.9% and the Opportunity signal places 98498 in the bottom 27%. The unemployment rate is published for Lakewood, WA, which contains 98498, rather than for 98498 alone.
In the public schools here, 38% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.3 students for every teacher.
396 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 8% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Lakewood, WA, which contains 98498, rather than for 98498 alone.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment across Lakewood, WA, which contains 98498, is 5.9% — higher than in all but 10% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.
Employment across Lakewood, WA, which contains 98498, fell 1.1% over the past year, to 28,601 employed residents.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsPierce County, WA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $73,728 | 60th percentileof 2,996 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftPierce County, WA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $70,736 | 54th percentileof 2,996 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$9,6672024 ACS 5-Year | $91,664 | Top 25%of 31,049 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$3,8142024 ACS 5-Year | $50,374 | Top 19%of 32,822 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 7.8% | Top 36%of 32,846 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 30.4 min | Bottom 36%of 32,887 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 31.8% | Top 31%of 33,193 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 72.0% | 36th percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentLakewood, WA’s figureJuly 2026 | 28,601 | Bottom 32%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)Lakewood, WA’s figureJuly 2026 | −0.6% | Bottom 44%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)Lakewood, WA’s figureJuly 2026 | −1.1% | Bottom 42%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceLakewood, WA’s figureJuly 2026 | 30,389 | 32nd percentileof 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 77.8% | Bottom 48%of 32,883 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Mean annual wageSeattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $91,790 | Top 5%of 2,760 | 2025 OEWS |
| Median annual wageSeattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS | $72,610 | Top 3%of 2,760 | 2025 OEWS |
| Public transit to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 3.4% | 91st percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)Lakewood, WA’s figureJuly 2026 | +0.5% | Bottom 22%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateLakewood, WA’s figureJuly 2026 | 5.9% | Bottom 10%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 11.2% | 58th percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Median household income, successive ACS releases
Largest occupations — Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
| Occupation | People employed | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Software Developers | 92,770 | $167,280 |
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 54,670 | $48,210 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 49,190 | $39,150 |
| Retail Salespersons | 46,620 | $42,080 |
| Registered Nurses | 39,900 | $128,260 |
| Business Operations Specialists, All Other | 38,800 | $101,920 |
Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.
Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Lakewood, WA, the city containing this ZIP code.
38% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 56% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 16.3 students for every full-time teacher across 10 public schools, more than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakes High School | Clover Park School District | 1,158 | 19.0 | 34% | 67% |
| Thomas Middle School | Clover Park School District | 934 | 17.6 | 33% | 56% |
| Hudtloff Middle School | Clover Park School District | 555 | 15.0 | 38% | 52% |
| Lake Louise Elementary School | Clover Park School District | 450 | 14.1 | 42% | 52% |
| Idlewild Elementary School | Clover Park School District | 380 | 15.2 | 56% | 60% |
| Custer Elementary School | Clover Park School District | 358 | 17.0 | 37% | 42% |
| Oakbrook Elementary School | Clover Park School District | 285 | 15.0 | 52% | 57% |
| Tillicum Elementary School | Clover Park School District | 272 | 15.1 | 32% | 42% |
| Firwood | Clover Park School District | 45 | 7.5 | — | — |
| Alfaretta House | Clover Park School District | 26 | — | — | — |
| Oak Grove | Clover Park School District | 11 | 3.7 | — | — |
| Transition Day Students | Clover Park School District | 8 | 8.0 | — | — |
64.2% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Washington’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Prices for everything a household buys run about 13% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 112.7, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Tacoma-Lakewood, WA Metropolitan Division is up 29% over five years, and up 1.9% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $4,432 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.88% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,971, some 15% above the $1,711 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,971 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $78,800 a year, about 86% of the median household income here of $91,664.
The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,711 a month.
A median home at $506,300 costs 4.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $106,529, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.
Prices here run about 13% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.
Published for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.
The figures above are measured against 98498’s median household income of $91,664, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of living indexthe Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area’s figure2023 | 112.7 | Bottom 7%of 2,737 | 2023 |
| Home price change (1 year)the Tacoma-Lakewood, WA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2 | +1.9% | 33rd percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the Tacoma-Lakewood, WA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2 | +28.5% | 12th percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the Tacoma-Lakewood, WA Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2 | +120.4% | 87th percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.52024 ACS 5-Year | 4.8 | Bottom 11%of 29,275 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 63.9% | 20th percentileof 32,750 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±7062024 ACS 5-Year | 12,918 | 89th percentileof 33,460 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $1,605 | Bottom 30%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $2,733 | Bottom 22%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,971 | Bottom 26%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$882024 ACS 5-Year | $1,711 | Bottom 15%of 26,396 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$29,6182024 ACS 5-Year | $506,300 | 88th percentileof 30,812 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$2042024 ACS 5-Year | $4,432 | 84th percentileof 28,935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$8,5602024 ACS 5-Year | $106,529 | Top 25%of 29,802 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.07%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.88% | 48th percentileof 24,099 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 27.8% | Top 47%of 26,247 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±1502024 ACS 5-Year | 166 | 83rd percentileof 33,772 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.3% | 53rd percentileof 32,961 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 6.9% | 50th percentileof 32,788 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±3102024 ACS 5-Year | 1,061 | 89th percentileof 33,772 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.
90% of the 396 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses. The multifamily share is published for Lakewood, WA, which contains 98498, rather than for 98498 alone.
At 6.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Lakewood, WA, which contains 98498, rather than for 98498 alone.
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- King County, WA 16,244 people · 33% of arrivals
- Thurston County, WA 2,740 people · 5.6% of arrivals
- Kitsap County, WA 1,441 people · 2.9% of arrivals
- Snohomish County, WA 1,392 people · 2.8% of arrivals
- Maricopa County, AZ 695 people · 1.4% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- King County, WA 9,505 people · 20% of departures
- Thurston County, WA 3,656 people · 7.5% of departures
- Kitsap County, WA 1,887 people · 3.9% of departures
- Maricopa County, AZ 1,276 people · 2.6% of departures
- Snohomish County, WA 1,016 people · 2.1% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Pierce County, WA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Lakewood, WA, the city containing this ZIP code.
Weather & climate
5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 76°F and January a low of 36°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 42.0 inches.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 59 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 42.0" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 36°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 76°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 1 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 44 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 24°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and heat wave, with earthquake alone responsible for 68% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.
Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, cold wave, lightning, winter weather, ice storm, wildfire, coastal flooding, tsunami, strong wind, tornado, hail, drought, hurricane.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 98498 (Pierce County) rather than 98498 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Reported crime
- Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Lakewood carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Seattle-Tacoma Intl at 23 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year | 94.5% | Top 22%of 32,663 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 23 mi | Bottom 39%of 3,127 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 2 | Bottom 9%of 3,127 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 4.3% | Top 28%of 32,663 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle-Tacoma Intl | SEA | 23 mi | 11,901 ft |
| Boeing Fld/King County Intl | BFI | 28 mi | 10,007 ft |
| Portland Intl | PDX | 109 mi | 11,000 ft |
Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.
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Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyData & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Housing | U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional price parities and county personal income | 2023 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics | 2025 OEWS |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.
98498 vs Lakewood
How this ZIP area compares with Lakewood as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.
Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.