ZIP 97211 vs ZIP 97218

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97211 (Portland, OR) and ZIP 97218 (Portland, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97211 has a population of 31,254 at 1,662 people per square mile, while ZIP 97218 has 14,561 at 805 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 97211 reports a median household income of $112,586 against $88,924 in ZIP 97218, with per-capita income of $62,331 vs $43,936. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 56.9% in 97211 and 51.0% in 97218. Poverty rate reads 9.5% vs 14.8%, and unemployment 7.2% vs 9.3% — 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 $634,000 in 97211 versus $496,600 in 97218, with median rent of $1,863 and $1,465 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 62.4% vs 57.9%. 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.