Best Places97444, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97444, 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.
97444 ranks 21,380th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 97444
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.
97444's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97444 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Short commute15.7 minutes each way, better than 96% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 142 pleasant days a year, better than 87% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 97444 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- School gradeC−, better than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97444
A household needs to earn about $103,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97444 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $69,951, 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 97444's effective rate of 0.48%, 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 97444
97444 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 97444.
Who works in 97444, and how
Work in 97444 centers on health care & social and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 67%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 97444
97444 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of zip codes. The coast is about 5 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 97444 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 97444, month by month
97444 sees roughly 142 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 70 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs June through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 48° | 41° |
| April | 61° | 51° | 43° |
| July | 70° | 59° | 52° |
| October | 67° | 57° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 97444
The nearest airport, Jack McNamara Field, is about 46 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 236 miles away.
The best schools in and around 97444
Schools across 97444 average a C−, better than 20% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Riley Creek Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Gold Beach High SchoolC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97444 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97444 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 97444 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 97444
Is 97444 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97444 ranks 21,380th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, short commutes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on disaster risk and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97444 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $413,109. The overall cost of living runs about 1% above the national average. Set against a $69,951 median income, cost of living beats 27% of zip codes.
Is 97444 safe?
Yes, 97444 is safer than 59% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $362 per resident a year.
Compare 97444 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97444. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97444 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.
97444 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97444: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97444: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97444: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97444: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97444 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.