ZIP 97304 vs ZIP 97303

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97304 (Salem, OR) and ZIP 97303 (Salem, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97304 has a population of 28,454 at 197 people per square mile, while ZIP 97303 has 38,663 at 599 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 97304 reports a median household income of $98,031 against $84,871 in ZIP 97303, with per-capita income of $48,486 vs $38,507. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 39.1% in 97304 and 27.0% in 97303. Poverty rate reads 10.8% vs 8.3%, and unemployment 5.5% vs 4.2% — 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 $499,300 in 97304 versus $433,900 in 97303, with median rent of $1,485 and $1,415 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 64.3% vs 63.0%. 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.