Best Places97504, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97504, 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.
97504 ranks 8,605th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 97504
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.
97504's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97504 ranks high
- Short commute15.4 minutes each way, better than 96% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 92% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 97504 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,112 a month, better than only 23% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97504
A household needs to earn about $122,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97504 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $87,863, 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 97504's effective rate of 0.86%, 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 97504
97504 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 97504.
Who works in 97504, and how
Work in 97504 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 97504
97504 has more parkland per resident than 72% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 66% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 97504 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 97504, month by month
97504 sees roughly 116 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 41° | 32° |
| April | 70° | 54° | 40° |
| July | 96° | 77° | 59° |
| October | 73° | 56° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 97504
The nearest airport, Rogue Valley International/Medford, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 225 miles away.
The best schools in and around 97504
Schools across 97504 average a C+, better than 46% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Hoover Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Lone Pine Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Abraham Lincoln ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- The Valley School Of Southern OregonA+ · 72% proficient
- Hedrick Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Mcloughlin Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Eagle Point High SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
- South Medford High SchoolB+ · 56% proficient
- North Medford High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97504 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97504 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 97504 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 97504 suits
Families
Schools land around the 46th percentile and crime safety beats 68%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 13% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 97504
Is 97504 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97504 ranks 8,605th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, state infrastructure, and biking, and lowest on air quality and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97504 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $462,557. The overall cost of living runs about 1% above the national average. Set against a $87,863 median income, cost of living beats 58% of zip codes.
Is 97504 safe?
Yes, 97504 is safer than 68% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $368 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 97504?
July highs average about 96 degrees, and January highs near 52 with lows near 32. That works out to about 116 pleasant days a year, more than 73% of zip codes.
Is 97504 good for families?
Schools beat 46% of zip codes, crime safety beats 68%, and childcare runs $1,112 a month.
Compare 97504 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97504. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97504 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.
97504 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97504: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97504: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97504: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97504: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97504 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.