Best Places99216, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 99216, 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.
99216 ranks 10,282nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 99216
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.
99216's strengths and weaknesses
Where 99216 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 84% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Short commute20.5 minutes each way, better than 83% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 99216 ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,197 a month, better than only 20% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 99216
A household needs to earn about $102,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 99216 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $77,547, 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 99216's effective rate of 0.78%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 99216
99216's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 99216.
Who works in 99216, and how
Work in 99216 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 99216
99216 has more parkland per resident than 87% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 99216 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 99216, month by month
99216 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 99216
The nearest airport, Spokane International, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 238 miles away.
99216 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 99216 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 99216 suits
Families
Schools land around the 42nd percentile and crime safety beats 69%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 99216
Is 99216 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 99216 ranks 10,282nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, low taxes, and transit, and lowest on state infrastructure 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 99216 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $390,948. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $77,547 median income, cost of living beats 56% of zip codes.
Is 99216 safe?
Yes, 99216 is safer than 69% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $393 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 99216?
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 99216 good for families?
Schools beat 42% of zip codes, crime safety beats 69%, and childcare runs $1,197 a month.
Compare 99216 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 99216. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 99216 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.
99216 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 99216: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 99216: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 99216: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 99216: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
99216 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.