Best Places99202, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 99202, 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.
99202 ranks 13,483rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 99202
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.
99202's strengths and weaknesses
Where 99202 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Short commute16.1 minutes each way, better than 95% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 95% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 99202 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 17% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 99202
A household needs to earn about $78,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 99202 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $65,627, 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 99202'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, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 99202
99202 runs younger 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 99202.
Who works in 99202, and how
Work in 99202 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 18%
Life in 99202
99202 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 74% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 99202 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 99202, month by month
99202 sees roughly 105 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 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 | 62° | 49° | 36° |
| July | 91° | 74° | 56° |
| October | 63° | 49° | 38° |
Flying in and out of 99202
The nearest airport, Spokane International, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 230 miles away.
99202 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 99202 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 99202 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 99202
Is 99202 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 99202 ranks 13,483rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, walkability, and short commutes, 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 99202 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $297,980. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $65,627 median income, cost of living beats 30% of zip codes.
Is 99202 safe?
99202 is safer than 19% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $725 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 99202?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 39 with lows near 26. That works out to about 105 pleasant days a year, more than 67% of zip codes.
Is 99202 good for families?
Schools beat 44% of zip codes, crime safety beats 19%, and childcare runs $1,197 a month.
Compare 99202 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 99202. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 99202 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.
99202 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 99202: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 99202: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 99202: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 99202: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
99202 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.