Best Places97202, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97202, 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.
97202 ranks 2,876th 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 97202
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.
97202's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97202 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of zip codes
Where 97202 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,740 a month, better than only 2% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97202
A household needs to earn about $186,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97202 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $114,882, 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 97202's effective rate of 1.02%, 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 97202
97202's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 97202.
Who works in 97202, and how
Work in 97202 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 50%
- Work from home 33%
- Transit, walk, or bike 17%
Life in 97202
97202 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 69% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 97202 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 97202, month by month
97202 sees roughly 117 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 42° | 36° |
| April | 66° | 53° | 43° |
| July | 86° | 71° | 59° |
| October | 67° | 56° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 97202
Portland International sits about 8 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 97202
Schools across 97202 average a B+, better than 71% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Riverdale Grade SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Trillium Creek Primary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Stafford Primary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rosemont Ridge Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Athey Creek Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Rowe Middle SchoolD− · 14% proficient
Top high schools
- Riverdale High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- New Urban High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97202 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97202 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 97202 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 97202 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 82% of zip codes and 33% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 97202
Is 97202 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97202 ranks 2,876th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, walkability, and transit, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97202 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $692,394. The overall cost of living runs about 12% above the national average. Set against a $114,882 median income, cost of living beats 82% of zip codes.
Is 97202 safe?
97202 is safer than 17% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $649 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 97202?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 36. That works out to about 117 pleasant days a year, more than 74% of zip codes.
Is 97202 good for families?
Schools beat 71% of zip codes, crime safety beats 17%, and childcare runs $1,740 a month.
Compare 97202 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97202. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97202 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.
97202 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97202: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97202: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97202: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97202: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97202 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.