Best Places97203, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97203, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
97203 ranks 10,009th 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 97203
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.
97203's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97203 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 97203 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,741 a month, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97203
A household needs to earn about $132,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97203 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $85,170, 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 97203's effective rate of 0.85%, 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 97203
97203 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 97203.
Who works in 97203, and how
Work in 97203 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 62%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in 97203
97203 has more parkland per resident than 80% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 78% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 97203 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 97203, month by month
97203 sees roughly 114 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 41° | 34° |
| April | 65° | 53° | 41° |
| July | 85° | 70° | 57° |
| October | 67° | 55° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 97203
Portland International sits about 7 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 97203
Schools across 97203 average a B+, better than 70% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sauvie Island SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97203 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97203 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 97203 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 97203 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 24% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 97203
Is 97203 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97203 ranks 10,009th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, transit, 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 97203 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $502,497. The overall cost of living runs about 8% above the national average. Set against a $85,170 median income, cost of living beats 44% of zip codes.
Is 97203 safe?
97203 is safer than 11% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $747 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 97203?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 34. That works out to about 114 pleasant days a year, more than 72% of zip codes.
Is 97203 good for families?
Schools beat 70% of zip codes, crime safety beats 11%, and childcare runs $1,741 a month.
Compare 97203 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97203. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97203 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.
97203 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97203: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97203: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97203: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97203: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97203 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.