Best Places97438, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97438, 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.
97438 ranks 17,991st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 97438
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.
97438's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97438 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Household income$98,891 median, better than 79% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 74% of zip codes
Where 97438 ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,397 a month, better than only 10% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 14% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97438
A household needs to earn about $150,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97438 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $98,891, 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 97438's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 97438
97438 runs older than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 97438.
Who works in 97438, and how
Work in 97438 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 97438
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 97438.
What the weather is like in 97438, month by month
97438 sees roughly 83 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 97438
The nearest airport, Mahlon Sweet Field, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 113 miles away.
The best schools in and around 97438
Schools across 97438 average a D+, better than 14% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pleasant Hill Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Walterville Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Oakridge Elementary SchoolC · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Thurston Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Oakridge Junior High SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top high schools
- Pleasant Hill High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Lowell Junior/senior High SchoolD · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97438 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97438 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 97438 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 97438
Is 97438 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97438 ranks 17,991st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, clean air, and tree cover, and lowest on cell coverage and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97438 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $584,458. The overall cost of living runs about 10% above the national average. Set against a $98,891 median income, cost of living beats 61% of zip codes.
Is 97438 safe?
97438 is safer than 50% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $397 per resident a year.
Compare 97438 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97438. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97438 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.
97438 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97438: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97438: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97438: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97438: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97438 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.