ZIP 97218 vs ZIP 97211

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