Best Places97020, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97020, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
97020 ranks 20,261st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 97020
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.
97020's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97020 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 97020 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 12% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97020
A household needs to earn about $81,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97020 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $75,652; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 97020's effective rate of 0.51%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 97020
97020 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 97020.
Who works in 97020, and how
Work in 97020 centers on construction and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 97020
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 97020.
What the weather is like in 97020, month by month
97020 sees roughly 111 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 42° | 35° |
| April | 65° | 52° | 41° |
| July | 87° | 70° | 55° |
| October | 67° | 55° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 97020
The nearest airport, McNary Field, is about 23 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 28 miles away.
The best schools in and around 97020
Schools across 97020 average a D, better than 12% of zip codes.
Top middle schools
- North Marion Middle SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- North Marion High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97020 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97020 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 97020 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 97020
Is 97020 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97020 ranks 20,261st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, cell coverage, and state infrastructure, and lowest on noise and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97020 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $322,100. The overall cost of living runs about 1% above the national average. Set against a $75,652 median income, cost of living beats 32% of zip codes.
Is 97020 safe?
Yes, 97020 is safer than 79% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $281 per resident a year.
Compare 97020 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97020. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97020 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.
97020 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97020: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97020: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97020: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97020: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97020 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.