Best Places98816, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 98816, 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.
98816 ranks 9,977th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 98816
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.
98816's strengths and weaknesses
Where 98816 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 176 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of zip codes
- Short commute16.5 minutes each way, better than 94% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 98816 ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,077 a month, better than only 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 98816
A household needs to earn about $143,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 98816 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $84,948, 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 98816's effective rate of 0.58%, 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 98816
98816 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 98816.
Who works in 98816, and how
Work in 98816 centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in 98816
98816 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 98816 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 98816, month by month
98816 sees roughly 176 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 29° | 23° |
| April | 64° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 92° | 77° | 62° |
| October | 63° | 51° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 98816
The nearest airport, Pangborn Memorial, is about 33 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 109 miles away.
98816 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 98816 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 98816
Is 98816 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 98816 ranks 9,977th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, the weather, and short commutes, and lowest on empty homes and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 98816 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $562,890. The overall cost of living runs about 12% above the national average. Set against a $84,948 median income, cost of living beats 42% of zip codes.
Is 98816 safe?
98816 is safer than 48% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $437 per resident a year.
Compare 98816 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 98816. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 98816 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.
98816 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 98816: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 98816: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 98816: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 98816: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
98816 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.