ZIP code 98245

ZIP 98245 is a small town in San Juan County, Washington, with 4,206 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #309 of 605 ranked by population — larger than 49% of them. The median age here is 52.1 years against 39.1 nationally, a markedly older profile that usually tracks retirees staying put and younger households leaving for work. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.

Households in ZIP 98245 earn a median of $76,579 a year, 2.5% below the national figure of $78,538. Household income here is measured before tax and pooled across everyone at the address, which is why it reads higher than typical individual earnings in the same area. Poverty reaches 9.8% of residents here, below the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in ZIP 98245 is valued at $694,100, 128.8% above the national figure, while median gross rent runs $1,341 a month, 4.6% below the national figure, or roughly $16,092 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 21% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is within the standard affordability guideline. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 9.1×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is out of reach on local earnings alone and the ownership market leans on outside income, equity or dual high earners. 78.5% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans toward owners. Gross rent folds in the utilities a tenant pays separately, so it is closer to the real monthly outlay than a headline rent figure.

Home values sit at 9.1× median household income, far past the 3.9× national mark, so ownership costs here are set by something other than local wages — second homes, retirees with equity, or commuters earning elsewhere. A median age of 52.1 puts ZIP 98245 well into retirement-weighted territory, which pulls median household income down even where household wealth is high, because retirement draws are counted differently from wages.

All values below were released by the Census for this exact geography, with no gap-filling on our side. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

ZIP 98245 is tabulated inside San Juan County, Washington, one of 9 ZIP areas the Census publishes for that county and 605 across Washington. Population sits in the small-town band, typically one main street plus the addresses that feed into it. County assignment on this page follows the largest share of the ZIP's land area, which matters where a delivery route crosses a county line: mail addressed to 98245 can be handled by a post office in a neighbouring county even though the tabulation area is filed here.

Against its own county, 98245 reports a median household income of $76,579, 3% below the $78,871 county median, and 5% below the $80,861 typical WA ZIP. Owner-occupied homes are valued at a median of $694,100, 6% below the county figure and 65% above the statewide ZIP median. Rent is reported gross — the contract amount plus tenant-paid utilities — at $1,341 a month, which is why it reads higher than the advertised rent on a listing for the same unit.

Washington charges 6.5% statewide, and local governments overlapping 98245 may add county, city or special-district levies on top. We publish the state floor for this ZIP rather than guessing a combined figure, because ZIP boundaries and taxing-district boundaries were drawn for different purposes and do not line up.

Everything above comes from the Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates for this ZIP Code Tabulation Area, with sales tax rates traced to the state revenue agency. Five-year estimates pool sixty months of responses, so they are stable enough to compare 98245 with its neighbours but always trail the current year, and any value the Census suppressed for sample size is shown as unpublished rather than filled in with a model.