ZIP 97302 vs ZIP 97306

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97302 (Salem, OR) and ZIP 97306 (Salem, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97302 has a population of 37,131 at 608 people per square mile, while ZIP 97306 has 27,360 at 317 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 97302 reports a median household income of $85,833 against $101,753 in ZIP 97306, with per-capita income of $48,921 vs $49,220. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 42.7% in 97302 and 43.8% in 97306. Poverty rate reads 9.6% vs 9.4%, and unemployment 3.9% vs 5.0% — 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 $446,400 in 97302 versus $463,100 in 97306, with median rent of $1,385 and $1,592 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 61.5% vs 69.3%. 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.