Best Places97003, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97003, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
97003 ranks 3,750th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 97003
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
97003's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97003 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 97003 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,642 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 32% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97003
A household needs to earn about $128,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97003 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $103,376, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 97003's effective rate of 0.84%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 97003
97003 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 97003.
Who works in 97003, and how
Work in 97003 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 97003
97003 has more parkland per resident than 70% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 86% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 97003 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 97003, month by month
97003 sees roughly 99 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 41° | 33° |
| April | 64° | 51° | 38° |
| July | 86° | 69° | 52° |
| October | 67° | 53° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 97003
Portland International sits about 15 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 9.1 million passengers in 2025, with 117 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 97003
Schools across 97003 average a B, better than 72% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mckinley Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Kinnaman Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Barnes Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Meadow Park Middle SchoolA+ · 72% proficient
- Five Oaks Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- R A Brown Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Westview High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Hillsboro High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Century High SchoolB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97003 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97003 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 97003 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 97003 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 73% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 24% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 97003
Is 97003 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97003 ranks 3,750th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, clean air, and state infrastructure, and lowest on childcare costs and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97003 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $485,644. The overall cost of living runs about 5% above the national average. Set against a $103,376 median income, cost of living beats 73% of zip codes.
Is 97003 safe?
97003 is safer than 54% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $407 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 97003?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 33. That works out to about 99 pleasant days a year, more than 63% of zip codes.
Is 97003 good for families?
Schools beat 72% of zip codes, crime safety beats 54%, and childcare runs $1,642 a month.
Compare 97003 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97003. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97003 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
97003 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97003: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97003: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97003: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97003: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97003 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.