Best Places97801, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97801, 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.
97801 ranks 15,023rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 97801
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.
97801's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97801 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Short commute15.2 minutes each way, better than 96% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 81% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 97801 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97801
A household needs to earn about $80,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97801 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $72,448; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 97801's effective rate of 0.85%, 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 97801
97801's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 97801.
Who works in 97801, and how
Work in 97801 centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 97801
97801 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 76% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 97801 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 97801, month by month
97801 sees roughly 124 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 35° | 27° |
| April | 65° | 51° | 37° |
| July | 94° | 76° | 57° |
| October | 67° | 52° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 97801
The nearest airport, Eastern Oregon Regional at Pendleton, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 184 miles away.
The best schools in and around 97801
Schools across 97801 average a C, better than 32% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mckay Creek Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Sherwood Heights Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Stanfield Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sunridge Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Weston Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Pendleton High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Weston-mcewen High SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Hawthorne Alternative High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97801 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97801 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 97801 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 97801 suits
Families
Schools land around the 32nd percentile and crime safety beats 66%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 97801
Is 97801 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97801 ranks 15,023rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, short commutes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on an overheated housing market and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97801 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $303,538. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $72,448 median income, cost of living beats 38% of zip codes.
Is 97801 safe?
Yes, 97801 is safer than 66% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $359 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 97801?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 27. That works out to about 124 pleasant days a year, more than 78% of zip codes.
Is 97801 good for families?
Schools beat 32% of zip codes, crime safety beats 66%, and childcare runs $849 a month.
Compare 97801 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97801. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97801 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.
97801 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97801: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97801: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97801: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97801: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97801 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.