Best Places99204, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 99204, 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.
99204 ranks 13,521st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 99204
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.
99204's strengths and weaknesses
Where 99204 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 97% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Short commute17.2 minutes each way, better than 93% of zip codes
Where 99204 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Household income$57,029 median, better than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 99204
A household needs to earn about $113,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 99204 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $57,029, 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 99204's effective rate of 0.74%, 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 99204
99204 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 99204.
Who works in 99204, and how
Work in 99204 centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in 99204
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 99204.
What the weather is like in 99204, month by month
99204 sees roughly 112 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 99204
The nearest airport, Spokane International, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 228 miles away.
99204 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 99204 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 99204
Is 99204 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 99204 ranks 13,521st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, biking, and walkability, and lowest on noise and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 99204 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $434,609. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $57,029 median income, cost of living beats 22% of zip codes.
Is 99204 safe?
99204 is safer than 11% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $785 per resident a year.
Compare 99204 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 99204. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 99204 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.
99204 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 99204: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 99204: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 99204: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 99204: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
99204 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.