ZIP 97114 vs ZIP 97127

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97114 (Dayton, OR) and ZIP 97127 (Lafayette, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97114 has a population of 4,762 at 32 people per square mile, while ZIP 97127 has 3,740 at 1,626 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 97114 reports a median household income of $84,228 against $95,089 in ZIP 97127, with per-capita income of $39,623 vs $30,943. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.1% in 97114 and 19.2% in 97127. Poverty rate reads 11.4% vs 5.7%, and unemployment 7.3% vs 8.1% — 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 $462,500 in 97114 versus $413,300 in 97127, with median rent of $1,378 and $1,181 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 78.8% vs 86.5%. 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.