Best Places98223, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 98223, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
98223 ranks 8,101st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 98223
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.
98223's strengths and weaknesses
Where 98223 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Household income$104,466 median, better than 83% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 98223 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,516 a month, better than only 5% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Short commute33.7 minutes each way, better than only 14% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 98223
A household needs to earn about $160,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 98223 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $104,466, 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 98223's effective rate of 0.70%, 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 98223
98223'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 98223.
Who works in 98223, and how
Work in 98223 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 98223
The coast is about 20 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 98223, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 98223, month by month
98223 sees roughly 109 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 40° | 32° |
| April | 61° | 49° | 38° |
| July | 79° | 64° | 51° |
| October | 62° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 98223
The nearest airport, Seattle Paine Field International, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 51 miles away.
98223 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 98223 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 98223 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 98223
Is 98223 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 98223 ranks 8,101st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, low taxes, and high incomes, and lowest on an overheated housing market and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 98223 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $621,850. The overall cost of living runs about 15% above the national average. Set against a $104,466 median income, cost of living beats 62% of zip codes.
Is 98223 safe?
Yes, 98223 is safer than 82% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $306 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 98223?
July highs average about 79 degrees, and January highs near 48 with lows near 32. That works out to about 109 pleasant days a year, more than 69% of zip codes.
Is 98223 good for families?
Schools beat 56% of zip codes, crime safety beats 82%, and childcare runs $1,516 a month.
Compare 98223 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 98223. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 98223 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.
98223 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 98223: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 98223: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 98223: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 98223: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
98223 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.