ZIP 97534 vs ZIP 97531

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97534 (O Brien, OR) and ZIP 97531 (Kerby, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97534 has a population of 756 at 3 people per square mile, while ZIP 97531 has 522 at 79 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 97534 reports a median household income of $39,194 against $28,686 in ZIP 97531, with per-capita income of $22,905 vs $25,270. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 23.8% in 97534 and 0.0% in 97531. Poverty rate reads 38.6% vs 47.1%, and unemployment 0.0% vs 59.1% — 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 — in 97534 versus $241,000 in 97531, with median rent of — and — per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 74.1% vs 83.2%. 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.