Best Places97396, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97396, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
97396 ranks 24,663rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 97396
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.
97396's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97396 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 87% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 97396 ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Short commute33.1 minutes each way, better than only 16% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97396
A household needs to earn about $88,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97396 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $62,019, 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 97396's effective rate of 0.54%, 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 97396
97396 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 97396.
Who works in 97396, and how
Work in 97396 centers on public administration and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above 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 97396
The coast is about 37 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 97396, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 97396, month by month
97396 sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 42° | 35° |
| April | 64° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 87° | 69° | 52° |
| October | 67° | 54° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 97396
The nearest airport, McNary Field, is about 27 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 56 miles away.
The best schools in and around 97396
Schools across 97396 average a C, better than 37% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Yamhill Carlton Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Nestucca K8D+ · 24% proficient
- Willamina Elementary SchoolD− · 12% proficient
Top middle schools
- Yamhill Carlton Intermediate SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Yamhill Carlton High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Nestucca High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97396 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97396 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 97396 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 97396
Is 97396 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97396 ranks 24,663rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, clean air, and walkability, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97396 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $348,908. The overall cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. Set against a $62,019 median income, cost of living beats 13% of zip codes.
Is 97396 safe?
97396 is safer than 53% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $410 per resident a year.
Compare 97396 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97396. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97396 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.
97396 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97396: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97396: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97396: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97396: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97396 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.