Best Places97498, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97498, 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.
97498 ranks 19,942nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 97498
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.
97498's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97498 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 97498 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97498
A household needs to earn about $139,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97498 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $69,650, 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 97498's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 97498
97498 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 97498.
Who works in 97498, and how
Work in 97498 centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 63%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 97498
97498 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 88% of zip codes. The coast is about 4 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 97498 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 97498, month by month
97498 sees roughly 110 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 63 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 45° | 41° |
| April | 55° | 48° | 42° |
| July | 63° | 57° | 50° |
| October | 60° | 53° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 97498
The nearest airport, Mahlon Sweet Field, is about 45 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 114 miles away.
The best schools in and around 97498
Schools across 97498 average a B, better than 64% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Crestview Heights SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Siuslaw Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Siuslaw Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Siuslaw High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97498 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97498 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 97498 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 97498
Is 97498 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97498 ranks 19,942nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, state infrastructure, and an educated workforce, and lowest on an overheated housing market and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97498 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $545,626. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $69,650 median income, cost of living beats 33% of zip codes.
Is 97498 safe?
97498 is safer than 22% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $567 per resident a year.
Compare 97498 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97498. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97498 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.
97498 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97498: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97498: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97498: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97498: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97498 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.