Best Places97109, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97109, 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.
97109 ranks 10,619th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 97109
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.
97109's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97109 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Household income$125,730 median, better than 91% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 97109 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,642 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Short commute33.2 minutes each way, better than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97109
A household needs to earn about $153,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97109 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $125,730, 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 97109's effective rate of 0.49%, 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 97109
97109 runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 97109.
Who works in 97109, and how
Work in 97109 centers on construction 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 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 97109
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 97109.
What the weather is like in 97109, month by month
97109 sees roughly 93 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 97109
Portland International sits about 30 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 97109
Schools across 97109 average a C, better than 30% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Banks Elementary SchoolD+ · 21% proficient
- Vernonia Elementary SchoolD · 19% proficient
Top middle schools
- Banks Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
- Vernonia Middle SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Banks High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Vernonia High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97109 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97109 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 97109 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 97109
Is 97109 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97109 ranks 10,619th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, tree cover, and clean air, and lowest on childcare costs and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97109 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $612,122. The overall cost of living runs about 13% above the national average. Set against a $125,730 median income, cost of living beats 86% of zip codes.
Is 97109 safe?
Yes, 97109 is safer than 67% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $332 per resident a year.
Compare 97109 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97109. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97109 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.
97109 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97109: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97109: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97109: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97109: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97109 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.