Best Places99026, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 99026, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
99026 ranks 4,058th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 99026
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.
99026's strengths and weaknesses
Where 99026 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Household income$116,756 median, better than 89% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 99026 ranks low
- Short commute35.7 minutes each way, better than only 10% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,122 a month, better than only 23% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 99026
A household needs to earn about $145,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 99026 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $116,756, 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 99026's effective rate of 0.73%, 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 99026
99026 runs older 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 99026.
Who works in 99026, and how
Work in 99026 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 99026
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 99026.
What the weather is like in 99026, month by month
99026 sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 29° | 23° |
| April | 59° | 46° | 34° |
| July | 88° | 72° | 55° |
| October | 60° | 47° | 36° |
Flying in and out of 99026
The nearest airport, Spokane International, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 221 miles away.
99026 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 99026 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 99026
Is 99026 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 99026 ranks 4,058th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, civic engagement, and what local pay buys, and lowest on long commutes and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 99026 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $558,854. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $116,756 median income, cost of living beats 90% of zip codes.
Is 99026 safe?
Yes, 99026 is safer than 97% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $206 per resident a year.
Compare 99026 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 99026. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 99026 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.
99026 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 99026: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 99026: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 99026: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 99026: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
99026 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.