ZIP 97850 vs ZIP 97827

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97850 (La Grande, OR) and ZIP 97827 (Elgin, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both, no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97850 has a population of 16,955 at 23 people per square mile, while ZIP 97827 has 2,628 at 5 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 97850 reports a median household income of $63,421 against $60,766 in ZIP 97827, with per-capita income of $34,948 vs $35,974. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.6% in 97850 and 14.0% in 97827. Poverty rate reads 18.2% vs 10.2%, and unemployment 6.5% vs 4.1% - 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 $298,100 in 97850 versus $262,500 in 97827, with median rent of $969 and $1,001 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 59.0% vs 75.7%. 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.