Best Places97526, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97526, 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.
97526 ranks 14,997th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 97526
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.
97526's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97526 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Short commute19.4 minutes each way, better than 87% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 97526 ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,109 a month, better than only 24% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97526
A household needs to earn about $101,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97526 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $65,514, 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 97526's effective rate of 0.60%, 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 97526
97526 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 97526.
Who works in 97526, and how
Work in 97526 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 97526
97526 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 71% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 97526 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 97526, month by month
97526 sees roughly 127 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 80 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 37° | 32° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 36° |
| July | 80° | 65° | 54° |
| October | 61° | 51° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 97526
The nearest airport, Rogue Valley International/Medford, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 219 miles away.
The best schools in and around 97526
Schools across 97526 average a B−, better than 65% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sunny Wolf Charter SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Fruitdale Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Manzanita Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Middle SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- South Middle SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Lincoln Savage Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- New Bridge High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- North Valley High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Hidden Valley High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97526 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97526 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 97526 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 97526 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 97526
Is 97526 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97526 ranks 14,997th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, walkability, and short commutes, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97526 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $398,518. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $65,514 median income, cost of living beats 17% of zip codes.
Is 97526 safe?
Yes, 97526 is safer than 84% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $284 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 97526?
July highs average about 80 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 32. That works out to about 127 pleasant days a year, more than 79% of zip codes.
Is 97526 good for families?
Schools beat 65% of zip codes, crime safety beats 84%, and childcare runs $1,109 a month.
Compare 97526 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97526. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97526 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.
97526 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97526: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97526: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97526: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97526: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97526 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.