Best Places98038, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 98038, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
98038 ranks 856th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on high incomes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 98038
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
98038's strengths and weaknesses
Where 98038 ranks high
- Household income$157,774 median, better than 97% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 98038 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,022 a month, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Short commute37.0 minutes each way, better than only 7% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 29% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 98038
A household needs to earn about $203,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 98038 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $157,774, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 98038's effective rate of 0.84%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 98038
98038's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 98038.
Who works in 98038, and how
Work in 98038 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 98038
98038 has more parkland per resident than 83% of zip codes. The coast is about 22 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 98038 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 98038, month by month
98038 sees roughly 148 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 42° | 36° |
| April | 62° | 52° | 42° |
| July | 81° | 69° | 58° |
| October | 63° | 54° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 98038
Seattle-Tacoma International sits about 14 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 25.4 million passengers in 2025, with 172 nonstop destinations.
98038 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 98038 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 98038 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 94% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 24% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 98038
Is 98038 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 98038 ranks 856th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on high incomes, population health, and few empty homes, and lowest on childcare costs and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 98038 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $772,779. The overall cost of living runs about 18% above the national average. Set against a $157,774 median income, cost of living beats 94% of zip codes.
Is 98038 safe?
Yes, 98038 is safer than 85% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $277 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 98038?
July highs average about 81 degrees, and January highs near 50 with lows near 36. That works out to about 148 pleasant days a year, more than 89% of zip codes.
Is 98038 good for families?
Schools beat 89% of zip codes, crime safety beats 85%, and childcare runs $2,022 a month.
Compare 98038 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 98038. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 98038 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
98038 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 98038: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 98038: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 98038: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 98038: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
98038 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.