Best Places97008, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97008, 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.
97008 ranks 4,061st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 97008
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.
97008's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97008 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 97% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 97008 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,642 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 31% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 32% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97008
A household needs to earn about $145,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97008 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $104,265, 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 97008's effective rate of 1.00%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 97008
97008's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 97008.
Who works in 97008, and how
Work in 97008 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 97008
97008 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 78% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 97008 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 97008, month by month
97008 sees roughly 98 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 97008
Portland International sits about 14 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 97008
Schools across 97008 average a B+, better than 80% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mckay Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Nancy Ryles Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Chehalem Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Whitford Middle SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Conestoga Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Highland Park Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Southridge High SchoolA · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97008 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97008 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 97008 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 97008 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 74% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 26% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 97008
Is 97008 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97008 ranks 4,061st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, biking, and state infrastructure, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97008 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $541,131. The overall cost of living runs about 6% above the national average. Set against a $104,265 median income, cost of living beats 74% of zip codes.
Is 97008 safe?
97008 is safer than 32% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $501 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 97008?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 33. That works out to about 98 pleasant days a year, more than 62% of zip codes.
Is 97008 good for families?
Schools beat 80% of zip codes, crime safety beats 32%, and childcare runs $1,642 a month.
Compare 97008 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97008. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97008 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.
97008 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97008: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97008: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97008: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97008: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97008 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.