Best Places97050, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97050, 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.
97050 ranks 28,081st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 97050
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.
97050's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97050 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Short commute19.0 minutes each way, better than 88% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 131 pleasant days a year, better than 82% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 97050 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Household income$50,625 median, better than only 11% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97050
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97050 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $50,625; 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 97050's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 97050
97050 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 97050.
Who works in 97050, and how
Work in 97050 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 97050
97050 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 97050 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 97050, month by month
97050 sees roughly 131 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 36° | 30° |
| April | 68° | 54° | 40° |
| July | 93° | 77° | 61° |
| October | 69° | 54° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 97050
The nearest airport, Yakima Air Trml/McAllister Field, is about 61 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 90 miles away.
The best schools in and around 97050
Schools across 97050 average a C+, better than 44% of zip codes.
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97050 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97050 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 97050 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 97050
Is 97050 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97050 ranks 28,081st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, state infrastructure, and short commutes, and lowest on tree cover and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97050 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $211,400. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $50,625 median income, cost of living beats 12% of zip codes.
Is 97050 safe?
97050 is safer than 21% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $573 per resident a year.
Compare 97050 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97050. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97050 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.
97050 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97050: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97050: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97050: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97050: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97050 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.