Best Places99102, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 99102, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
99102 ranks 3,630th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 99102
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.
99102's strengths and weaknesses
Where 99102 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Short commute16.6 minutes each way, better than 94% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 99102 ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 99102
A household needs to earn about $81,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 99102 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $111,786, 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 99102's effective rate of 0.89%, 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 99102
99102 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 99102.
Who works in 99102, and how
Work in 99102 centers on agriculture & forestry and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 99102
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 99102.
What the weather is like in 99102, month by month
99102 sees roughly 102 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 32° | 26° |
| April | 59° | 46° | 35° |
| July | 87° | 70° | 50° |
| October | 62° | 49° | 37° |
Flying in and out of 99102
The nearest airport, Pullman/Moscow Regional, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 229 miles away.
99102 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 99102 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 99102
Is 99102 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 99102 ranks 3,630th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, low disaster risk, and short commutes, and lowest on civic engagement and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 99102 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $304,400. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $111,786 median income, cost of living beats 94% of zip codes.
Is 99102 safe?
Yes, 99102 is safer than 90% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $250 per resident a year.
Compare 99102 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 99102. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 99102 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.
99102 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 99102: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 99102: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 99102: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 99102: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
99102 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.