Best PlacesBelltown, Seattle, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Belltown, Seattle, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Belltown, Seattle ranks 311th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Belltown, Seattle
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.
Belltown, Seattle's strengths and weaknesses
Where Belltown, Seattle ranks high
- TransitBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Household income$149,644 median, better than 91% of neighborhoods
Where Belltown, Seattle ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$2,022 a month, better than only 7% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Belltown, Seattle
A household needs to earn about $233,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Belltown, Seattle home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $149,644, 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 Belltown, Seattle's effective rate of 0.76%, 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 Belltown, Seattle
Belltown, Seattle 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 Belltown, Seattle.
Who works in Belltown, Seattle, and how
Work in Belltown, Seattle centers on professional & technical and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 18%
- Work from home 44%
- Transit, walk, or bike 39%
Life in Belltown, Seattle
Belltown, Seattle has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 86% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 0 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Belltown, Seattle and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Belltown, Seattle, month by month
Belltown, Seattle sees roughly 154 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 42° | 35° |
| April | 62° | 52° | 43° |
| July | 81° | 68° | 58° |
| October | 63° | 54° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Belltown, Seattle
The nearest airport, Boeing Field/King County International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 12 miles away.
Belltown, Seattle 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 Belltown, Seattle against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Belltown, Seattle
Is Belltown, Seattle a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Belltown, Seattle ranks 311th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on transit, population health, and walkability, and lowest on noise and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Belltown, Seattle expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $896,227. The overall cost of living runs about 38% above the national average. Set against a $149,644 median income, cost of living beats 87% of neighborhoods.
Is Belltown, Seattle safe?
Belltown, Seattle is safer than 7% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,294 per resident a year.
Compare Belltown, Seattle with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Belltown, Seattle. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Belltown, Seattle 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.
Belltown, Seattle detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Belltown, Seattle: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Belltown, Seattle: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Belltown, Seattle: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Belltown, Seattle: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Belltown, Seattle 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.