ZIP 97203 vs ZIP 97217

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97203 (Portland, OR) and ZIP 97217 (Portland, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97203 has a population of 31,042 at 1,343 people per square mile, while ZIP 97217 has 31,438 at 939 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 97203 reports a median household income of $78,660 against $100,361 in ZIP 97217, with per-capita income of $42,849 vs $59,617. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 45.2% in 97203 and 59.1% in 97217. Poverty rate reads 19.4% vs 10.4%, and unemployment 6.8% 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 $484,400 in 97203 versus $578,700 in 97217, with median rent of $1,571 and $1,829 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 57.0% vs 56.5%. 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.