Best Places97053, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97053, 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.
97053 ranks 8,771st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 97053
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.
97053's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97053 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Household income$131,389 median, better than 93% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 97053 ranks low
- Short commute36.2 minutes each way, better than only 9% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,162 a month, better than only 21% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97053
A household needs to earn about $135,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97053 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $131,389; 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 97053's effective rate of 0.61%, 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 97053
97053 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 97053.
Who works in 97053, and how
Work in 97053 centers on retail trade and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 97053
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 97053.
What the weather is like in 97053, month by month
97053 sees roughly 104 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 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 | 65° | 52° | 39° |
| July | 85° | 69° | 54° |
| October | 67° | 53° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 97053
Portland International sits about 21 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 97053
Schools across 97053 average a C+, better than 49% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- South Columbia Family SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Warren Elementary SchoolD+ · 21% proficient
- Lewis & Clark Elementary SchoolD · 17% proficient
Top middle schools
- St Helens Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Scappoose Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- St Helens High SchoolC · 31% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97053 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97053 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 97053 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 97053
Is 97053 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97053 ranks 8,771st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, clean air, and state infrastructure, and lowest on long commutes and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97053 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $531,047. The overall cost of living runs about 10% above the national average. Set against a $131,389 median income, cost of living beats 88% of zip codes.
Is 97053 safe?
Yes, 97053 is safer than 76% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $302 per resident a year.
Compare 97053 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97053. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97053 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.
97053 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97053: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97053: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97053: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97053: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97053 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.