Best Places98938, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 98938, 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.
98938 ranks 15,983rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 98938
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.
98938's strengths and weaknesses
Where 98938 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Short commute16.0 minutes each way, better than 95% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 155 pleasant days a year, better than 91% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 98938 ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 98938
A household needs to earn about $70,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 98938 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $75,099, 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 98938's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 98938
98938 runs younger than the country, 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 98938.
Who works in 98938, and how
Work in 98938 centers on agriculture & forestry and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 98938
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 98938.
What the weather is like in 98938, month by month
98938 sees roughly 155 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 98938
The nearest airport, Yakima Air Trml/McAllister Field, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 129 miles away.
98938 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 98938 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 98938
Is 98938 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 98938 ranks 15,983rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, short commutes, and the weather, and lowest on thin health care access and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 98938 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $273,587. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $75,099 median income, cost of living beats 33% of zip codes.
Is 98938 safe?
Yes, 98938 is safer than 75% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $325 per resident a year.
Compare 98938 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 98938. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 98938 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.
98938 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 98938: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 98938: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 98938: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 98938: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
98938 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.