ZIP 97050 vs ZIP 97065

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97050 (Rufus, OR) and ZIP 97065 (Wasco, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97050 has a population of 272 at 14 people per square mile, while ZIP 97065 has 676 at 1 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 97050 reports a median household income of $39,306 against $53,875 in ZIP 97065, with per-capita income of $31,263 vs $35,898. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 13.2% in 97050 and 16.9% in 97065. Poverty rate reads 24.5% vs 18.2%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 0.0% - 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 $182,800 in 97050 versus $221,600 in 97065, with median rent of $800 and $1,167 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 72.4% vs 66.4%. 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.