Best Places97056, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97056, 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.
97056 ranks 6,001st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 97056
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.
97056's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97056 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 97056 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,176 a month, better than only 21% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- Short commute29.7 minutes each way, better than only 30% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 34% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97056
A household needs to earn about $127,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97056 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $102,199, 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 97056's effective rate of 0.78%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 97056
97056 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 97056.
Who works in 97056, and how
Work in 97056 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 97056
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 97056.
What the weather is like in 97056, month by month
97056 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 97056
Portland International sits about 18 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 97056
Schools across 97056 average a B+, better than 74% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Grant Watts Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Warren Elementary SchoolD+ · 21% proficient
- Vernonia Elementary SchoolD · 19% proficient
Top middle schools
- St Helens Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Scappoose Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Otto Petersen Elementary SchoolD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Vernonia High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- St Helens High SchoolC · 31% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97056 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97056 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 97056 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 97056
Is 97056 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97056 ranks 6,001st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, state infrastructure, and low crime, and lowest on disaster risk and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97056 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $488,369. The overall cost of living runs about 6% above the national average. Set against a $102,199 median income, cost of living beats 71% of zip codes.
Is 97056 safe?
Yes, 97056 is safer than 90% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $246 per resident a year.
Compare 97056 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97056. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97056 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.
97056 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97056: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97056: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97056: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97056: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97056 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.