Best Places98953, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 98953, 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.
98953 ranks 8,948th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 98953
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.
98953's strengths and weaknesses
Where 98953 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 156 pleasant days a year, better than 91% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 98953 ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,102 a month, better than only 25% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 98953
A household needs to earn about $91,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 98953 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $82,995; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 98953's effective rate of 0.81%, 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 98953
98953 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 98953.
Who works in 98953, and how
Work in 98953 centers on agriculture & forestry and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 98953
98953 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 85% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 98953 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 98953, month by month
98953 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 98953
The nearest airport, Yakima Air Trml/McAllister Field, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 120 miles away.
98953 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 98953 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 98953
Is 98953 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 98953 ranks 8,948th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, cell coverage, and few empty homes, and lowest on thin health care access and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 98953 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $347,386. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $82,995 median income, cost of living beats 54% of zip codes.
Is 98953 safe?
Yes, 98953 is safer than 74% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $326 per resident a year.
Compare 98953 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 98953. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 98953 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.
98953 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 98953: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 98953: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 98953: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 98953: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
98953 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.