Best Places98901, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 98901, 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.
98901 ranks 14,713th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 98901
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.
98901's strengths and weaknesses
Where 98901 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 92% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 156 pleasant days a year, better than 91% of zip codes
- Short commute19.1 minutes each way, better than 88% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 98901 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 98901
A household needs to earn about $70,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 98901 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $62,179, 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 98901's effective rate of 0.76%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 98901
98901 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 98901.
Who works in 98901, and how
Work in 98901 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 98901
98901 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 67% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 98901 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 98901, month by month
98901 sees roughly 156 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 32° | 23° |
| April | 67° | 52° | 35° |
| July | 94° | 77° | 55° |
| October | 67° | 50° | 35° |
Flying in and out of 98901
The nearest airport, Yakima Air Trml/McAllister Field, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 104 miles away.
98901 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 98901 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 98901 suits
Families
Schools land around the 51st percentile and crime safety beats 66%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 98901
Is 98901 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 98901 ranks 14,713th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, walkability, and the weather, and lowest on education levels 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 98901 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $267,867. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $62,179 median income, cost of living beats 20% of zip codes.
Is 98901 safe?
Yes, 98901 is safer than 66% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $422 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 98901?
July highs average about 94 degrees, and January highs near 41 with lows near 23. That works out to about 156 pleasant days a year, more than 91% of zip codes.
Is 98901 good for families?
Schools beat 51% of zip codes, crime safety beats 66%, and childcare runs $1,102 a month.
Compare 98901 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 98901. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 98901 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.
98901 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 98901: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 98901: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 98901: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 98901: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
98901 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.