ZIP 97325 vs ZIP 97317

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97325 (Aumsville, OR) and ZIP 97317 (Salem, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97325 has a population of 6,614 at 82 people per square mile, while ZIP 97317 has 24,355 at 171 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 97325 reports a median household income of $100,056 against $84,393 in ZIP 97317, with per-capita income of $46,975 vs $34,713. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.4% in 97325 and 23.2% in 97317. Poverty rate reads 11.1% vs 11.9%, and unemployment 6.8% 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 $384,000 in 97325 versus $402,800 in 97317, with median rent of $1,773 and $1,436 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 89.5% vs 70.8%. 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.