Best Places97850, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97850, 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.
97850 ranks 13,870th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 97850
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.
97850's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97850 ranks high
- Short commute13.1 minutes each way, better than 98% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 91% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 97850 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 36% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97850
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97850 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $70,406, 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 97850's effective rate of 0.80%, 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 97850
97850 runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65, 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 97850.
Who works in 97850, and how
Work in 97850 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 97850
97850 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 70% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 97850 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 97850, month by month
97850 sees roughly 107 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 97850
The nearest airport, Eastern Oregon Regional at Pendleton, is about 45 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 153 miles away.
The best schools in and around 97850
Schools across 97850 average a C, better than 37% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mckay Creek Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Island City Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Central Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- La Grande Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Sunridge Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Pendleton High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- La Grande High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Union High SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97850 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97850 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 97850 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 97850
Is 97850 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97850 ranks 13,870th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, state infrastructure, and fast internet, and lowest on distance from a big city and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 97850 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $302,061. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $70,406 median income, cost of living beats 43% of zip codes.
Is 97850 safe?
97850 is safer than 49% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $427 per resident a year.
Compare 97850 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97850. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97850 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.
97850 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97850: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97850: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97850: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97850: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97850 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.