ZIP 97202 vs ZIP 97214

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97202 (Portland, OR) and ZIP 97214 (Portland, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97202 has a population of 38,762 at 2,363 people per square mile, while ZIP 97214 has 23,813 at 3,276 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 97202 reports a median household income of $104,971 against $87,131 in ZIP 97214, with per-capita income of $62,899 vs $65,876. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 64.8% in 97202 and 67.1% in 97214. Poverty rate reads 10.1% vs 11.5%, and unemployment 7.8% vs 5.8% — 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 $700,800 in 97202 versus $771,800 in 97214, with median rent of $1,705 and $1,645 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 50.1% vs 33.9%. 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.