ZIP 97266 vs ZIP 97216

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97266 (Portland, OR) and ZIP 97216 (Portland, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97266 has a population of 33,300 at 2,128 people per square mile, while ZIP 97216 has 15,594 at 2,374 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 97266 reports a median household income of $72,577 against $70,442 in ZIP 97216, with per-capita income of $34,684 vs $38,820. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.3% in 97266 and 32.4% in 97216. Poverty rate reads 19.1% vs 17.3%, and unemployment 6.0% vs 4.8% — 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 $445,700 in 97266 versus $450,800 in 97216, with median rent of $1,595 and $1,467 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 54.1% vs 50.7%. 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.