Best Places97426, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97426, 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.
97426 ranks 10,851st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 97426
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.
97426's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97426 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 84% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 97426 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,397 a month, better than only 10% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 30% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 33% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 36% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97426
A household needs to earn about $130,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97426 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $86,058, 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 97426's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 97426
97426 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 97426.
Who works in 97426, and how
Work in 97426 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 97426
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 97426.
What the weather is like in 97426, month by month
97426 sees roughly 86 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° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 88° | 70° | 51° |
| October | 68° | 54° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 97426
The nearest airport, Mahlon Sweet Field, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 118 miles away.
The best schools in and around 97426
Schools across 97426 average a C+, better than 64% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pleasant Hill Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Applegate Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Creslane Elementary SchoolD+ · 22% proficient
Top middle schools
- Creswell Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Lincoln Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Hamlin Middle SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Creswell High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- Cottage Grove High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
- Crow Middle/high SchoolB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97426 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97426 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 97426 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 97426
Is 97426 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97426 ranks 10,851st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, few empty homes, and clean air, and lowest on childcare costs and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97426 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $507,199. The overall cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. Set against a $86,058 median income, cost of living beats 53% of zip codes.
Is 97426 safe?
Yes, 97426 is safer than 64% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $345 per resident a year.
Compare 97426 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97426. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97426 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.
97426 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97426: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97426: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97426: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97426: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97426 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.