Best Places97835, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97835, 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.
97835 ranks 19,655th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 97835
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.
97835's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97835 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Household income$105,909 median, better than 84% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 128 pleasant days a year, better than 80% of zip codes
Where 97835 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97835
A household needs to earn about $64,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97835 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $105,909, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 97835's effective rate of 0.97%, 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 97835
97835's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 97835.
Who works in 97835, and how
Work in 97835 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 64%
- Work from home 31%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 97835
97835 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 97835 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 97835, month by month
97835 sees roughly 128 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 97835
The nearest airport, Eastern Oregon Regional at Pendleton, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 189 miles away.
The best schools in and around 97835
Schools across 97835 average a C+, better than 50% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- Mcloughlin High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97835 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97835 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 97835 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 97835
Is 97835 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97835 ranks 19,655th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, high incomes, and what local pay buys, and lowest on noise and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97835 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $237,768. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $105,909 median income, cost of living beats 83% of zip codes.
Is 97835 safe?
Yes, 97835 is safer than 69% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $304 per resident a year.
Compare 97835 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97835. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97835 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.
97835 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97835: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97835: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97835: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97835: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97835 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.