Best PlacesBrightwood, Washington, DC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Brightwood, Washington, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Brightwood, Washington ranks 2,036th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Brightwood, Washington
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.
Brightwood, Washington's strengths and weaknesses
Where Brightwood, Washington ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
Where Brightwood, Washington ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,143 a month, better than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Short commute32.8 minutes each way, better than only 10% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 70 pleasant days a year, better than only 26% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Brightwood, Washington
A household needs to earn about $190,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Brightwood, Washington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $112,856, 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 Brightwood, Washington's effective rate of 0.45%, 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 Brightwood, Washington
Brightwood, Washington's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Brightwood, Washington.
Who works in Brightwood, Washington, and how
Work in Brightwood, Washington centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 47%
- Work from home 27%
- Transit, walk, or bike 25%
Life in Brightwood, Washington
Brightwood, Washington has more parkland per resident than 68% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 30 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Brightwood, Washington and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Brightwood, Washington, month by month
Brightwood, Washington sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 36° | 28° |
| April | 68° | 57° | 46° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 70° | 59° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Brightwood, Washington
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 8 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.0 million passengers in 2025, with 128 nonstop destinations.
Brightwood, Washington 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 Brightwood, Washington against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Brightwood, Washington suits
Common questions about living in Brightwood, Washington
Is Brightwood, Washington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Brightwood, Washington ranks 2,036th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on state infrastructure, low disaster risk, and low property taxes, and lowest on childcare costs and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Brightwood, Washington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $764,387. The overall cost of living runs about 35% above the national average. Set against a $112,856 median income, cost of living beats 55% of neighborhoods.
Is Brightwood, Washington safe?
Brightwood, Washington is safer than 27% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $951 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Brightwood, Washington?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 28. That works out to about 70 pleasant days a year, more than 26% of neighborhoods.
Is Brightwood, Washington good for families?
Schools beat 39% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 27%, and childcare runs $2,143 a month.
Compare Brightwood, Washington with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Brightwood, Washington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Brightwood, Washington 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.
Brightwood, Washington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Brightwood, Washington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Brightwood, Washington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Brightwood, Washington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Brightwood, Washington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Brightwood, Washington 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.