Best Places98261, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 98261, 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.
98261 ranks 8,074th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 98261
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.
98261's strengths and weaknesses
Where 98261 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 151 pleasant days a year, better than 90% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 98261 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,516 a month, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 98261
A household needs to earn about $192,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 98261 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $76,136, 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 98261's effective rate of 0.49%, 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 98261
98261 runs older 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 98261.
Who works in 98261, and how
Work in 98261 centers on professional & technical and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 65%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 98261
98261 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 85% of zip codes. The coast is about 15 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 98261 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 98261, month by month
98261 sees roughly 151 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 | 60° | 49° | 40° |
| July | 76° | 61° | 50° |
| October | 61° | 52° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 98261
The nearest airport, Friday Harbor, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 77 miles away.
98261 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 98261 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 98261
Is 98261 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 98261 ranks 8,074th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, an educated workforce, and the weather, and lowest on childcare costs and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 98261 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $765,924. The overall cost of living runs about 20% above the national average. Set against a $76,136 median income, cost of living beats 22% of zip codes.
Is 98261 safe?
Yes, 98261 is safer than 66% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $341 per resident a year.
Compare 98261 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 98261. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 98261 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.
98261 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 98261: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 98261: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 98261: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 98261: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
98261 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.