ZIP 97531 vs ZIP 97538

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97531 (Kerby, OR) and ZIP 97538 (Selma, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97531 has a population of 522 at 79 people per square mile, while ZIP 97538 has 2,063 at 6 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 97531 reports a median household income of $28,686 against $44,099 in ZIP 97538, with per-capita income of $25,270 vs $20,123. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 0.0% in 97531 and 20.2% in 97538. Poverty rate reads 47.1% vs 22.3%, and unemployment 59.1% vs 16.1% — 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 $241,000 in 97531 versus $312,200 in 97538, with median rent of — and $788 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 83.2% vs 87.0%. 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.