ZIP 97217 vs ZIP 97203

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97217 (Portland, OR) and ZIP 97203 (Portland, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97217 has a population of 31,438 at 939 people per square mile, while ZIP 97203 has 31,042 at 1,343 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 97217 reports a median household income of $100,361 against $78,660 in ZIP 97203, with per-capita income of $59,617 vs $42,849. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 59.1% in 97217 and 45.2% in 97203. Poverty rate reads 10.4% vs 19.4%, and unemployment 5.3% vs 6.8% — 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 $578,700 in 97217 versus $484,400 in 97203, with median rent of $1,829 and $1,571 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 56.5% vs 57.0%. 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.