Best Places98103, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 98103, 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.
98103 ranks 865th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 98103
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.
98103's strengths and weaknesses
Where 98103 ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 98103 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,022 a month, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 98103
A household needs to earn about $261,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 98103 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $144,632, 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 98103's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 98103
98103 runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 98103.
Who works in 98103, and how
Work in 98103 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 42%
- Work from home 39%
- Transit, walk, or bike 19%
Life in 98103
98103 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 74% of zip codes. The coast is about 5 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 98103 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 98103, month by month
98103 sees roughly 152 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 42° | 35° |
| April | 62° | 52° | 43° |
| July | 81° | 68° | 58° |
| October | 63° | 54° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 98103
The nearest airport, Boeing Field/King County International, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 16 miles away.
98103 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 98103 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 98103 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 89% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 39% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 98103
Is 98103 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 98103 ranks 865th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on population health, biking, and transit, and lowest on childcare costs and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 98103 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,015,068. The overall cost of living runs about 32% above the national average. Set against a $144,632 median income, cost of living beats 89% of zip codes.
Is 98103 safe?
98103 is safer than 5% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,000 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 98103?
July highs average about 81 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 35. That works out to about 152 pleasant days a year, more than 90% of zip codes.
Is 98103 good for families?
Schools beat 76% of zip codes, crime safety beats 5%, and childcare runs $2,022 a month.
Compare 98103 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 98103. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 98103 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.
98103 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 98103: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 98103: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 98103: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 98103: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
98103 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.