ZIP 97306 vs ZIP 97302

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