Best Places97116, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97116, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
97116 ranks 4,916th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 97116
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.
97116's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97116 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 96% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 97116 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,642 a month, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Short commute28.9 minutes each way, better than only 34% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 34% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97116
A household needs to earn about $134,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97116 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $100,016, 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 97116'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 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 97116
97116 runs younger than the country, 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 97116.
Who works in 97116, and how
Work in 97116 centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in 97116
97116 has more parkland per resident than 66% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 97116 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 97116, month by month
97116 sees roughly 98 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 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 | 64° | 51° | 38° |
| July | 86° | 69° | 52° |
| October | 67° | 53° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 97116
Portland International sits about 25 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 97116
Schools across 97116 average a B, better than 80% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Forest Grove Community SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Banks Elementary SchoolD+ · 21% proficient
- Free Orchards Elementary SchoolD · 17% proficient
Top middle schools
- Evergreen Jr High SchoolB · 44% proficient
- Tom Mccall Upper ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
- Banks Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Forest Grove High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Glencoe High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Banks High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97116 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97116 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 97116 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 97116 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 97116
Is 97116 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97116 ranks 4,916th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, state infrastructure, and clean air, and lowest on childcare costs and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97116 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $519,417. The overall cost of living runs about 6% above the national average. Set against a $100,016 median income, cost of living beats 64% of zip codes.
Is 97116 safe?
97116 is safer than 44% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $423 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 97116?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 33. That works out to about 98 pleasant days a year, more than 62% of zip codes.
Is 97116 good for families?
Schools beat 80% of zip codes, crime safety beats 44%, and childcare runs $1,642 a month.
Compare 97116 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97116. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97116 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.
97116 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97116: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97116: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97116: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97116: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97116 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.