Best Places99201, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 99201, 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.
99201 ranks 22,294th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 99201
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.
99201's strengths and weaknesses
Where 99201 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 98% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 99201 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Household income$44,865 median, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 99201
A household needs to earn about $99,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 99201 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $44,865, 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 99201's effective rate of 0.77%, 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 99201
99201 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 99201.
Who works in 99201, and how
Work in 99201 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 63%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 23%
Life in 99201
99201 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 95% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 99201 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 99201, month by month
99201 sees roughly 109 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 30° | 24° |
| April | 60° | 48° | 36° |
| July | 89° | 74° | 58° |
| October | 61° | 48° | 38° |
Flying in and out of 99201
The nearest airport, Spokane International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 228 miles away.
99201 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 99201 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 99201
Is 99201 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 99201 ranks 22,294th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, transit, and walkability, and lowest on an overheated housing market and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 99201 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $381,280. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $44,865 median income, cost of living beats 8% of zip codes.
Is 99201 safe?
99201 is safer than 4% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,192 per resident a year.
Compare 99201 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 99201. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 99201 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.
99201 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 99201: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 99201: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 99201: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 99201: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
99201 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.