Best Places98841, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 98841, 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.
98841 ranks 14,886th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 98841
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.
98841's strengths and weaknesses
Where 98841 ranks high
- Short commute14.8 minutes each way, better than 97% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 139 pleasant days a year, better than 85% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 98841 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 98841
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 98841 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,610, 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 98841's effective rate of 0.60%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 98841
98841 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 98841.
Who works in 98841, and how
Work in 98841 centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in 98841
98841 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 90% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 98841 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 98841, month by month
98841 sees roughly 139 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 28° | 23° |
| April | 65° | 51° | 35° |
| July | 94° | 77° | 58° |
| October | 64° | 50° | 37° |
Flying in and out of 98841
The nearest airport, Pangborn Memorial, is about 77 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 146 miles away.
The best schools in and around 98841
Schools across 98841 average a C−, better than 31% of zip codes.
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 98841 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
98841 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 98841 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 98841
Is 98841 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 98841 ranks 14,886th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, the weather, and low taxes, and lowest on state infrastructure and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 98841 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $262,366. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $68,610 median income, cost of living beats 41% of zip codes.
Is 98841 safe?
Yes, 98841 is safer than 57% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $389 per resident a year.
Compare 98841 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 98841. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 98841 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.
98841 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 98841: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 98841: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 98841: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 98841: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
98841 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.