Best Places98609, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 98609, 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.
98609 ranks 9,464th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 98609
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.
98609's strengths and weaknesses
Where 98609 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Household income$116,310 median, better than 88% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 98609 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,375 a month, better than only 11% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 98609
A household needs to earn about $104,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 98609 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $116,310, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 98609's effective rate of 0.80%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 98609
98609's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 98609.
Who works in 98609, and how
Work in 98609 centers on manufacturing and hospitality & food. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 98609
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 98609.
What the weather is like in 98609, month by month
98609 sees roughly 89 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 41° | 35° |
| April | 64° | 51° | 40° |
| July | 82° | 66° | 55° |
| October | 65° | 53° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 98609
Portland International sits about 36 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 9.1 million passengers in 2025, with 117 nonstop destinations.
98609 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 98609 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 98609
Is 98609 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 98609 ranks 9,464th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, clean air, and low crime, and lowest on a weak job 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 98609 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $397,200. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $116,310 median income, cost of living beats 84% of zip codes.
Is 98609 safe?
Yes, 98609 is safer than 95% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $212 per resident a year.
Compare 98609 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 98609. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 98609 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.
98609 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 98609: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 98609: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 98609: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 98609: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
98609 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.