Best Places98305, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 98305, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
98305 ranks 24,817th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 98305
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.
98305's strengths and weaknesses
Where 98305 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Short commute18.1 minutes each way, better than 91% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 98305 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,375 a month, better than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 98305
A household needs to earn about $97,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 98305 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $76,453, 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 98305's effective rate of 0.67%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 98305
98305 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 98305.
Who works in 98305, and how
Work in 98305 centers on public administration and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 98305
The coast is about 24 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 98305, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 98305, month by month
98305 sees roughly 87 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 71 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 42° | 35° |
| April | 58° | 47° | 38° |
| July | 71° | 60° | 51° |
| October | 62° | 51° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 98305
The nearest airport, Friday Harbor, is about 68 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 104 miles away.
98305 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 98305 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 98305
Is 98305 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 98305 ranks 24,817th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, clean air, and low crime, and lowest on a weak job market and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 98305 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $376,300. The overall cost of living runs about 5% above the national average. Set against a $76,453 median income, cost of living beats 34% of zip codes.
Is 98305 safe?
Yes, 98305 is safer than 92% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $237 per resident a year.
Compare 98305 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 98305. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 98305 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.
98305 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 98305: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 98305: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 98305: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 98305: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
98305 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.