Best Places99185, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 99185, 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.
99185 ranks 20,844th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 99185
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.
99185's strengths and weaknesses
Where 99185 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 153 pleasant days a year, better than 90% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 77% of zip codes
Where 99185 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 99185
A household needs to earn about $64,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 99185 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $62,179; 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 99185's effective rate of 0.55%, 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 99185
99185 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 99185.
Who works in 99185, and how
Work in 99185 centers on education and construction. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 99185
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 99185.
What the weather is like in 99185, month by month
99185 sees roughly 153 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 31° | 24° |
| April | 67° | 52° | 36° |
| July | 93° | 77° | 57° |
| October | 66° | 51° | 36° |
Flying in and out of 99185
The nearest airport, Spokane International, is about 55 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 170 miles away.
99185 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 99185 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 99185
Is 99185 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 99185 ranks 20,844th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, low taxes, and a strong job market, and lowest on state infrastructure and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 99185 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $255,190. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $62,179 median income, cost of living beats 30% of zip codes.
Is 99185 safe?
99185 is safer than 44% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $442 per resident a year.
Compare 99185 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 99185. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 99185 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.
99185 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 99185: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 99185: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 99185: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 99185: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
99185 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.