ZIP 97068 vs ZIP 97034

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97068 (West Linn, OR) and ZIP 97034 (Lake Oswego, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97068 has a population of 28,305 at 487 people per square mile, while ZIP 97034 has 18,905 at 993 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 97068 reports a median household income of $151,729 against $149,236 in ZIP 97034, with per-capita income of $73,799 vs $101,884. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 62.6% in 97068 and 74.2% in 97034. Poverty rate reads 5.6% vs 3.1%, and unemployment 4.2% vs 5.6% — 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 $796,400 in 97068 versus $1,047,500 in 97034, with median rent of $2,102 and $2,241 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.8% vs 74.0%. 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.