Best Places97534, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97534, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
97534 ranks 29,770th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 97534
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.
97534's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97534 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 77% of zip codes
Where 97534 ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$39,118 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97534
A household needs to earn about $83,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97534 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $39,118, 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 97534's effective rate of 0.55%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 97534
97534's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 97534.
Who works in 97534, and how
Work in 97534 centers on manufacturing and professional & technical. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 53%
- Work from home 42%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 97534
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 97534.
What the weather is like in 97534, month by month
97534 sees roughly 88 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 97534
The nearest airport, Jack McNamara Field, is about 33 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 250 miles away.
The best schools in and around 97534
Schools across 97534 average a D+, better than 17% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Evergreen Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lorna Byrne Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Illinois Valley High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97534 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97534 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 97534 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 97534
Is 97534 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97534 ranks 29,770th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, state infrastructure, and quiet, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and low incomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97534 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $330,017. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $39,118 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 97534 safe?
Yes, 97534 is safer than 66% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $325 per resident a year.
Compare 97534 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97534. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97534 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.
97534 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97534: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97534: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97534: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97534: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97534 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.