Best Places98206, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 98206, 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.
98206 ranks 13,341st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 98206
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.
98206's strengths and weaknesses
Where 98206 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Household income$122,188 median, better than 90% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 137 pleasant days a year, better than 84% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 98206 ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,516 a month, better than only 5% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 98206
A household needs to earn about $154,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 98206 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $122,188, 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 98206's effective rate of 0.74%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 98206
98206's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 98206.
Who works in 98206, and how
Work in 98206 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 98206
The coast is about 8 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 98206, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 98206, month by month
98206 sees roughly 137 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 76 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 42° | 36° |
| April | 59° | 50° | 42° |
| July | 76° | 64° | 55° |
| October | 60° | 52° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 98206
The nearest airport, Seattle Paine Field International, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 39 miles away.
98206 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 98206 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 98206
Is 98206 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 98206 ranks 13,341st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, population health, and high incomes, and lowest on biking and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 98206 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $594,500. The overall cost of living runs about 14% above the national average. Set against a $122,188 median income, cost of living beats 84% of zip codes.
Is 98206 safe?
98206 is safer than 48% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $436 per resident a year.
Compare 98206 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 98206. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 98206 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.
98206 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 98206: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 98206: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 98206: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 98206: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
98206 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.