ZIP 98226 Foreclosure, Tax-Lien & Distress Report

On DLRadar's 0-100 public-record scale, ZIP 98226 in Whatcom County, Washington comes in at 35, a moderate composite-distress reading. It additionally carries heavy environmental risk: flood (NFIP) exposure (98/100), climate & FEMA risk (91/100), FEMA disaster exposure (71/100). The split runs 78/100 structural to 6/100 active on the ground. Its standout signals are structural risk (78/100), construction/permit lag (67/100), institutional ownership (60/100). On the quiet end sit mortgage stress (20/100).

The contraction-phase market in 98226 posted values that held roughly flat over the year, and 11% higher over three years, at 30/100 phase confidence. Falling values surface more motivated sellers and below-market exits.

Median household income is $79,684, near the U.S. median near $78,000. 11.5% of residents fall below the poverty threshold. The typical home is worth about $607,600 (7.1× income, severely stretched). Rent burden reaches 46% of tenant households. Around 40% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. The vacancy rate is 5.1%. The demographic-stress sub-score lands at 41/100. The tenure split is 62% owner-occupied to 38% rented. There are about 20,980 housing units across 98226. 45,739 residents call 98226 home, typically aged 41.

On the whole, 98226 leans distressed, with opportunity clustered in specific stressed parcels. No parcel file is published for 98226 yet, but every score above is drawn from a verifiable public dataset and refreshed as records post.

No ZIP is too small to score: 98226 passes through the same foreclosure, tax, mortgage and bank-stress model as any major-metro ZIP, so its 35/100 composite is a like-for-like number rather than an isolated estimate. 98226 carries no interpolated values - each figure ties to a public source and refreshes the moment new records land.

Each component behind 98226 - foreclosure, mortgage stress, tax and lien delinquency, lender pullback, structural exposure - is graded on its own before the 35/100 roll-up. The point of the 98226 score is action: it tells you whether to open the ZIP, and DLRadar takes it from there to parcels, funding and close.