ZIP 97048 vs ZIP 97054

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97048 (Rainier, OR) and ZIP 97054 (Deer Island, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97048 has a population of 6,691 at 31 people per square mile, while ZIP 97054 has 1,579 at 13 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 97048 reports a median household income of $77,171 against $87,327 in ZIP 97054, with per-capita income of $34,942 vs $41,922. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.2% in 97048 and 25.5% in 97054. Poverty rate reads 13.9% vs 3.0%, and unemployment 7.8% vs 8.2% — 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 $368,600 in 97048 versus $459,000 in 97054, with median rent of $969 and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.1% vs 97.8%. 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.