Best Places97361, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97361, 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.
97361 ranks 6,047th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 97361
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.
97361's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97361 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 92% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 83% of zip codes
Where 97361 ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,018 a month, better than only 32% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97361
A household needs to earn about $119,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97361 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $83,254, 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 97361's effective rate of 0.86%, 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 97361
97361 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 97361.
Who works in 97361, and how
Work in 97361 centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 97361
97361 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 97361 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 97361, month by month
97361 sees roughly 107 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 42° | 35° |
| April | 65° | 52° | 40° |
| July | 88° | 71° | 55° |
| October | 68° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 97361
The nearest airport, McNary Field, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 61 miles away.
The best schools in and around 97361
Schools across 97361 average a B−, better than 74% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Oak Grove Elementary SchoolA− · 62% proficient
Top middle schools
- Philomath Middle SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- North Albany Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Central High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Philomath High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- West Albany High SchoolA · 72% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97361 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97361 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 97361 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 97361
Is 97361 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97361 ranks 6,047th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low crime, and biking, and lowest on thin health care access and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97361 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $451,854. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $83,254 median income, cost of living beats 50% of zip codes.
Is 97361 safe?
Yes, 97361 is safer than 93% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $219 per resident a year.
Compare 97361 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97361. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97361 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.
97361 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97361: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97361: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97361: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97361: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97361 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.