Best Places97486, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97486, 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.
97486 ranks 14,273rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 97486
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.
97486's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97486 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 97486 ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97486
A household needs to earn about $123,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97486 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $84,302, 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 97486's effective rate of 0.53%, 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 97486
97486 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 97486.
Who works in 97486, and how
Work in 97486 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 97486
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 97486.
What the weather is like in 97486, month by month
97486 sees roughly 123 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 43° | 36° |
| April | 68° | 53° | 42° |
| July | 90° | 73° | 57° |
| October | 70° | 56° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 97486
The nearest airport, Southwest Oregon Regional, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 159 miles away.
The best schools in and around 97486
Schools across 97486 average a B−, better than 58% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Melrose Elementary SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Oakland Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Millicoma SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lincoln Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- John C Fremont Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Winston Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
Top high schools
- Roseburg High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Oakland High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Sutherlin High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97486 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97486 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 97486 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 97486
Is 97486 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97486 ranks 14,273rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, a strong job market, and low crime, and lowest on biking and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97486 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $489,141. The overall cost of living runs about 4% above the national average. Set against a $84,302 median income, cost of living beats 44% of zip codes.
Is 97486 safe?
Yes, 97486 is safer than 87% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $244 per resident a year.
Compare 97486 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97486. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97486 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.
97486 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97486: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97486: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97486: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97486: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97486 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.