ZIP 97232 vs ZIP 97212

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97232 (Portland, OR) and ZIP 97212 (Portland, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97232 has a population of 11,472 at 2,360 people per square mile, while ZIP 97212 has 24,126 at 3,413 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 97232 reports a median household income of $70,895 against $131,932 in ZIP 97212, with per-capita income of $62,007 vs $76,323. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 65.4% in 97232 and 68.2% in 97212. Poverty rate reads 11.1% vs 9.3%, and unemployment 5.9% 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 $781,200 in 97232 versus $876,800 in 97212, with median rent of $1,646 and $1,763 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 27.0% vs 62.6%. 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.