ZIP 97452 vs ZIP 97438

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97452 (Lowell, OR) and ZIP 97438 (Fall Creek, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97452 has a population of 1,420 at 26 people per square mile, while ZIP 97438 has 1,191 at 4 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 97452 reports a median household income of $97,669 against $125,156 in ZIP 97438, with per-capita income of $40,290 vs $46,930. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 25.1% in 97452 and 21.0% in 97438. Poverty rate reads 8.4% vs 0.6%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 0.0% — 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 $439,300 in 97452 versus $584,900 in 97438, with median rent of $1,179 and $2,257 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 85.5% vs 81.6%. 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.