Best Places97856, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 97856, 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.
97856 ranks 29,124th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 97856
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.
97856's strengths and weaknesses
Where 97856 ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 91% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Short commute20.1 minutes each way, better than 84% of zip codes
Where 97856 ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$38,751 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 97856
A household needs to earn about $97,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 97856 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $38,751, 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 97856's effective rate of 0.41%, 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 97856
97856 runs older than the country, 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 97856.
Who works in 97856, and how
Work in 97856 centers on agriculture & forestry and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 67%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 18%
Life in 97856
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 97856.
What the weather is like in 97856, month by month
97856 sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 34° | 26° |
| April | 62° | 47° | 34° |
| July | 92° | 73° | 54° |
| October | 66° | 50° | 38° |
Flying in and out of 97856
The nearest airport, Eastern Oregon Regional at Pendleton, is about 67 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 165 miles away.
The best schools in and around 97856
Schools across 97856 average a B+, better than 74% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Humbolt Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Heppner Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Heppner Junior/senior High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Grant Union Junior/senior High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 97856 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
97856 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 97856 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 97856
Is 97856 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 97856 ranks 29,124th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a strong job market, state infrastructure, and low property taxes, 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 97856 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $391,590. The overall cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. Set against a $38,751 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 97856 safe?
97856 is safer than 25% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $536 per resident a year.
Compare 97856 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 97856. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 97856 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.
97856 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 97856: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 97856: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 97856: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 97856: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
97856 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.