Best Places98053, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 98053, 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.
98053 ranks 65th 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 98053
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.
98053's strengths and weaknesses
Where 98053 ranks high
- Household income$202,360 median, better than 99% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 98053 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,022 a month, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Short commute28.9 minutes each way, better than only 34% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 98053
A household needs to earn about $332,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 98053 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $202,360, 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 98053's effective rate of 0.83%, 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 98053
98053 runs older than the country, 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 98053.
Who works in 98053, and how
Work in 98053 centers on professional & technical and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 53%
- Work from home 42%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 98053
98053 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. The coast is about 23 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 98053 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 98053, month by month
98053 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 98053
The nearest airport, Boeing Field/King County International, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 21 miles away.
98053 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 98053 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 98053 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 42% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 89% of zip codes, health care access beats 63%, and it is quieter than 60%.
Common questions about living in 98053
Is 98053 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 98053 ranks 65th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on high incomes, population health, and an educated workforce, and lowest on childcare costs and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 98053 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,263,463. The overall cost of living runs about 37% above the national average. Set against a $202,360 median income, cost of living beats 98% of zip codes.
Is 98053 safe?
Yes, 98053 is safer than 82% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $284 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 98053?
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 98053 good for families?
Schools beat 93% of zip codes, crime safety beats 82%, and childcare runs $2,022 a month.
Compare 98053 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 98053. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 98053 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.
98053 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 98053: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 98053: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 98053: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 98053: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
98053 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.