ZIP 97538 vs ZIP 97543

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97538 (Selma, OR) and ZIP 97543 (Wilderville, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97538 has a population of 2,063 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 97543 has 736 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 97538 reports a median household income of $44,099 against — in ZIP 97543, with per-capita income of $20,123 vs $41,418. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 20.2% in 97538 and 14.5% in 97543. Poverty rate reads 22.3% vs 14.0%, and unemployment 16.1% vs 8.2% — 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 $312,200 in 97538 versus $641,600 in 97543, with median rent of $788 and $1,016 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 87.0% vs 58.3%. 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.