Best Places98632, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 98632, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
98632 ranks 14,991st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 98632
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.
98632's strengths and weaknesses
Where 98632 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 95% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 98632 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,375 a month, better than only 11% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 31% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 98632
A household needs to earn about $98,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 98632 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $76,283, 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 98632's effective rate of 0.85%, 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 98632
98632'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 98632.
Who works in 98632, and how
Work in 98632 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 98632
98632 has more parkland per resident than 72% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 86% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 98632 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 98632, month by month
98632 sees roughly 88 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 98632
Portland International sits about 43 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 9.1 million passengers in 2025, with 117 nonstop destinations.
98632 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 98632 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 98632 suits
Families
Schools land around the 37th percentile and crime safety beats 62%.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 98632
Is 98632 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 98632 ranks 14,991st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, biking, and few empty homes, and lowest on disaster risk and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 98632 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $372,695. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $76,283 median income, cost of living beats 39% of zip codes.
Is 98632 safe?
Yes, 98632 is safer than 62% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $405 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 98632?
July highs average about 82 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 35. That works out to about 88 pleasant days a year, more than 53% of zip codes.
Is 98632 good for families?
Schools beat 37% of zip codes, crime safety beats 62%, and childcare runs $1,375 a month.
Compare 98632 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 98632. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 98632 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.
98632 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 98632: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 98632: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 98632: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 98632: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
98632 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.