Best Places97824, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97824, 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.
97824 ranks 16,548th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 97824
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.
97824's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97824 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 86% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 97824 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 16% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97824
A household needs to earn about $103,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97824 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $80,677, 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 97824's effective rate of 0.56%, 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 97824
97824 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 97824.
Who works in 97824, and how
Work in 97824 centers on health care & social and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 97824
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 97824.
What the weather is like in 97824, month by month
97824 sees roughly 105 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 33° | 25° |
| April | 62° | 47° | 33° |
| July | 91° | 72° | 51° |
| October | 64° | 49° | 35° |
Flying in and out of 97824
The nearest airport, Eastern Oregon Regional at Pendleton, is about 56 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 144 miles away.
The best schools in and around 97824
Schools across 97824 average a D+, better than 16% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Island City Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Stella Mayfield Elementary SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Union Elementary SchoolC− · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- La Grande Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- La Grande High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Union High SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
- Elgin High SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97824 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97824 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 97824 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 97824
Is 97824 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97824 ranks 16,548th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, few empty homes, and clean air, and lowest on distance from a big city and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97824 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $406,479. The overall cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. Set against a $80,677 median income, cost of living beats 55% of zip codes.
Is 97824 safe?
97824 is safer than 51% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $378 per resident a year.
Compare 97824 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97824. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97824 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.
97824 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97824: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97824: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97824: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97824: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97824 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.