Oak Harbor, WA
Island County · Washington · United States
Home to 40,338 people across 57.251 square miles.
At a glance
98277 by the numbers
Every figure below comes from the 2019–2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, the Census Gazetteer, or is computed from those. Margins of error are shown where they matter.
Location
Where 98277 is
| Coordinates | 48.321988, -122.627027 |
|---|---|
| Time zone | America/Los_Angeles |
| County | Island County |
| State | Washington (WA) |
| Land area | 57.251 mi² |
| Coordinate source | Census ZCTA internal point |
Local time
America/Los_Angeles
Current weather
Live from the National Weather Service
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Distance to major cities
Straight-line, computed from coordinates
| Seattle, WA | 51.3 mi |
|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | 728.8 mi |
| Los Angeles, CA | 1011.5 mi |
| Denver, CO | 1054.0 mi |
People
Who lives in 98277
40,338 residents in 15,992 households, averaging 2.52 people per household. The largest age group is under 18 at 23.4% of residents.
Age distribution
Share of residents by age band
Households
Composition and size
| Total households | 15,992 |
|---|---|
| Average household size | 2.52 |
| Family households | 69.4% |
| Living alone | 23.8% |
| Median age | 35.5 years |
| Households with internet | 94.5% |
Race & ethnicity
Census race categories. Hispanic or Latino origin is asked separately and overlaps these groups.
Income & work
What people earn in 98277
The median household here earns $79,326 a year, above the US median of $70,109, which puts 98277 ahead of 64% of American ZIP codes. 7.5% of residents live below the poverty line.
Compared to the US
This ZIP against the national median
| Median household income | $79,326 ±$4,901 |
|---|---|
| Per capita income | $38,855 |
| Poverty rate | 7.5% |
| Unemployment rate | 5.3% |
| Labor force participation | 63.3% |
Household income distribution
Share of households in each bracket
Educational attainment among residents 25 and older: 27.1% hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 94.7% finished high school.
Housing
Homes and rent in 98277
A typical home is valued at $455,300, and median rent runs $1,651 a month. Ownership is close to even at 59.5% owned, and the typical building went up in 1989.
Costs
Typical values
| Median home value | $455,300 |
|---|---|
| Median gross rent | $1,651/mo |
| Median year built | 1989 |
| Housing units | 17,694 |
| Vacancy rate | 9.6% |
Own vs. rent
Of 15,992 occupied units
| Owner households | 9,512 |
|---|---|
| Renter households | 6,480 |
Building types
Units by structure size
Getting to work
How 98277 commutes
77.2% of workers drove alone, and the average one-way trip takes 21.6 minutes.
Mode of transport
Workers 16 and older
Travel time
Mean commute 21.6 minutes
Overview
Understanding ZIP code 98277
ZIP code 98277 is assigned to Oak Harbor, WA, and falls within Island County. Like every US postal code, it began as a mail-routing device rather than a geographic boundary — the US Postal Service groups delivery routes under a single code so carriers and sorting equipment can process mail efficiently. Today it also serves as a practical shorthand for the area itself: roughly 40,338 people live inside it.
At 705 residents per square mile spread over 57.251 square miles, 98277 reads as a small-town area. It is a populous postal code, and density shapes almost everything else on this page — how people get to work, whether they own or rent, and what housing costs.
Household earnings track close to the national picture. The median of $79,326 puts 98277 near the middle of the pack, ahead of 64% of them. The US median for comparison is $70,109. Bear in mind that median income describes the midpoint household, not the average — it is not pulled upward by a handful of very high earners the way a mean would be.
Living here
What life in Oak Harbor looks like
Housing in 98277 costs well above the national median. A typical home is valued at $455,300 against a US median of $207,500, and median gross rent runs $1,651 a month. The split between owning and renting is fairly even at 59.5% owner-occupied, which tends to indicate a mix of housing types rather than one dominant form.
The building stock is dominated by detached single-family houses, which account for 68.1% of housing units here. The median construction year is 1989, making the housing here from the later twentieth century.
The population skews younger than the country as a whole, with a median age of 35.5 against 42 nationally. The average household holds 2.52 people, and 69.4% are family households.
Getting to work takes 21.6 minutes on average one way. The dominant mode is drove alone at 77.2% of workers.
Where to stay
Where to stay in Oak Harbor, WA
Oak Harbor is a smaller community, so options inside 98277 may be limited to a handful of independent inns, motels or bed-and-breakfast properties. Travellers often widen the search to the surrounding area, where the choice is greater and prices are usually competitive.
Median rent in 98277 is $1,651 a month, which sits in the middle of the national range; accommodation pricing locally tends to be similarly mid-market. For reference, Seattle, WA is about 51.3 miles away in a straight line, which is worth factoring in if you are comparing a stay here against one closer to the city centre.
Availability and pricing change constantly, so the live search below will give you a more accurate picture than any figure we could publish here. It opens results for this area on Booking.com.
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Practical uses
What ZIP code 98277 is used for
Beyond addressing mail, 98277 does a lot of quiet administrative work. Retailers use it to calculate shipping and sales tax at checkout. Insurers use it to set premiums, since risk profiles vary geographically. Employers and marketers use it to define service areas. Government agencies use it to route benefits and organise reporting. If you have ever been asked for a postal code by a form that clearly does not intend to send you anything, this is why.
For anyone weighing a move, 98277 offers a compact profile of Oak Harbor: 40,338 residents, a median household income of $79,326, 27.1% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher, and an unemployment rate of 5.3%. A handful of figures like these answer more relocation questions than most neighbourhood guides do.
One caution worth repeating: a postal code is not a neighbourhood. 98277 may cover parts of several distinct areas, and a single neighbourhood in Oak Harbor may be split across more than one code. Boundaries also shift as USPS adjusts delivery routes. Treat the figures here as describing a delivery area, which is what they actually measure.
Nearby
ZIP codes near 98277
The eight closest postal codes by centroid distance, each with its own full profile. You can also browse every Washington ZIP code or use the ZIP Express Lookup to search by city, county or time zone.
Other ZIP codes in Oak Harbor
Oak Harbor is served by 2 postal codes.
More in Island County
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Questions
Common questions about 98277
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Methodology
Where this data comes from
- Postal geography — GeoNames open postal code database (CC BY 4.0), cross-checked against the US Census Gazetteer.
- Demographics, income, housing, commute — US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-Year Estimates, ZIP Code Tabulation Area 98277. Tables B01001, B01002, B01003, B02001, B03003, B08301, B08303, B11001, B15003, B17001, B19001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25024, B25035, B25064, B25077, B28002.
- Land and water area — US Census Bureau 2023 Gazetteer Files.
- Weather — NOAA National Weather Service, fetched live in your browser.
- Map — OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).