ZIP 97005 vs ZIP 97008

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97005 (Beaverton, OR) and ZIP 97008 (Beaverton, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97005 has a population of 24,906 at 1,811 people per square mile, while ZIP 97008 has 28,969 at 2,257 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 97005 reports a median household income of $78,239 against $96,116 in ZIP 97008, with per-capita income of $40,829 vs $50,998. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 36.4% in 97005 and 50.4% in 97008. Poverty rate reads 13.0% vs 10.6%, and unemployment 6.3% vs 5.9% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $504,300 in 97005 versus $578,100 in 97008, with median rent of $1,663 and $1,763 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 39.2% vs 56.9%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.