Best Places97049, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97049, 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.
97049 ranks 19,935th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 97049
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.
97049's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97049 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 83% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 75% of zip codes
Where 97049 ranks low
- Short commute40.3 minutes each way, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,524 a month, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97049
A household needs to earn about $119,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97049 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $91,097, 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 97049's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 97049
97049 runs older than the country, 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 97049.
Who works in 97049, and how
Work in 97049 centers on manufacturing and hospitality & food. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 97049
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 97049.
What the weather is like in 97049, month by month
97049 sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 42° | 37° |
| April | 65° | 53° | 42° |
| July | 87° | 71° | 57° |
| October | 67° | 56° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 97049
Portland International sits about 35 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 9.1 million passengers in 2025, with 117 nonstop destinations.
97049 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 97049 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 97049
Is 97049 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97049 ranks 19,935th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, tree cover, and clean air, and lowest on long commutes and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97049 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $464,190. The overall cost of living runs about 15% above the national average. Set against a $91,097 median income, cost of living beats 52% of zip codes.
Is 97049 safe?
97049 is safer than 42% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $439 per resident a year.
Compare 97049 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97049. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97049 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.
97049 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97049: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97049: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97049: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97049: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97049 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.