Puget Sound Business Journal: The wealthiest ZIP codes in the Puget Sound region
Two ZIP codes covering Northern Capitol Hill neighborhoods — not Medina, nor Mercer Island — now rank as the wealthiest areas on the Puget Sound. Soaring housing values, booming incomes for some, and economic changes are factors.
So are methodologies.
The Puget Sound Business Journal says its new focus on population density in its calculations has pushed Capitol Hill’s 98102 and 98112 to the top of its Wealth Index for King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties, displacing top areas of the past like Medina.
98116
98107
“The rankings are derived from a weighted calculation that relies on multiple datapoints and demographics,” the PSBJ explains. “Consideration is given to population density as well as income, home equity, estimated savings and poverty rates to identify ZIP codes with the greatest concentrations of wealth per capita.”
The retooled rankings are part of the publication’s efforts to revamp its methods to better reflect economic realities and “capture the greatest concentrations of wealth,” it says.
For the captains of industry who subscribe, the rankings might be old news but the change could reflect new economic attention on the city. The rest of the top 5 ZIP Codes are also within the city’s central and northern core.
The new rankings come as Seattle is finalizing its next 20-year comprehensive growth plan that includes changes in zoning that could help spread more multifamily and affordable housing development into more parts of the city.
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