Best Places99109, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 99109, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
99109 ranks 19,070th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. A weak job market pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on low taxes.
The best neighborhoods in 99109
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.
99109's strengths and weaknesses
Where 99109 ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 77% of zip codes
- Short commute21.7 minutes each way, better than 77% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 77% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 72% of zip codes
Where 99109 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 27% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 99109
A household needs to earn about $81,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 99109 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $66,182, 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 99109's effective rate of 0.63%, 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 99109
99109 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 99109.
Who works in 99109, and how
Work in 99109 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 99109
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 99109.
What the weather is like in 99109, month by month
99109 sees roughly 92 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 29° | 21° |
| April | 61° | 46° | 31° |
| July | 89° | 70° | 48° |
| October | 61° | 45° | 31° |
Flying in and out of 99109
The nearest airport, Spokane International, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 220 miles away.
99109 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 99109 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 99109
Is 99109 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 99109 ranks 19,070th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low taxes, cheap car insurance, and short commutes, and lowest on a weak job market and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 99109 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $317,971. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $66,182 median income, cost of living beats 34% of zip codes.
Is 99109 safe?
99109 is safer than 41% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $456 per resident a year.
Compare 99109 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 99109. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 99109 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.
99109 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 99109: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 99109: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 99109: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 99109: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
99109 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.