Best Places98275, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 98275, 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.
98275 ranks 1,519th 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 98275
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.
98275's strengths and weaknesses
Where 98275 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Household income$145,249 median, better than 95% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 98275 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,516 a month, better than only 5% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 98275
A household needs to earn about $218,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 98275 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $145,249, 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 98275's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 98275
98275 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 98275.
Who works in 98275, and how
Work in 98275 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 98275
98275 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of zip codes. The coast is about 2 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 98275 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 98275, month by month
98275 sees roughly 134 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 98275
The nearest airport, Seattle Paine Field International, is about 1 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 32 miles away.
98275 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 98275 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 98275 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 91% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 26% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 98275
Is 98275 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 98275 ranks 1,519th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, high incomes, and transit, and lowest on childcare costs and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 98275 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $853,946. The overall cost of living runs about 20% above the national average. Set against a $145,249 median income, cost of living beats 91% of zip codes.
Is 98275 safe?
Yes, 98275 is safer than 56% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $422 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 98275?
July highs average about 76 degrees, and January highs near 48 with lows near 36. That works out to about 134 pleasant days a year, more than 83% of zip codes.
Is 98275 good for families?
Schools beat 72% of zip codes, crime safety beats 56%, and childcare runs $1,516 a month.
Compare 98275 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 98275. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 98275 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.
98275 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 98275: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 98275: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 98275: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 98275: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
98275 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.