ZIP 97116 vs ZIP 97106

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97116 (Forest Grove, OR) and ZIP 97106 (Banks, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97116 has a population of 24,104 at 129 people per square mile, while ZIP 97106 has 4,550 at 38 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 97116 reports a median household income of $92,613 against $104,250 in ZIP 97106, with per-capita income of $37,471 vs $51,076. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 32.7% in 97116 and 42.6% in 97106. Poverty rate reads 14.2% vs 7.4%, and unemployment 4.2% vs 5.3% — 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 $495,800 in 97116 versus $546,400 in 97106, with median rent of $1,463 and $1,719 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 66.4% vs 85.6%. 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.