Best PlacesDowntown Seattle, Seattle, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown Seattle, 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.
Downtown Seattle, Seattle ranks 181st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown Seattle, 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.
Downtown Seattle, Seattle's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown Seattle, Seattle ranks high
- TransitBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Household income$171,641 median, better than 95% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown Seattle, Seattle ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,022 a month, better than only 7% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown Seattle, Seattle
A household needs to earn about $324,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown Seattle, Seattle home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $171,641, 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 Downtown Seattle, Seattle's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 Downtown Seattle, Seattle
Downtown Seattle, 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 Downtown Seattle, Seattle.
Who works in Downtown Seattle, Seattle, and how
Work in Downtown Seattle, Seattle centers on professional & technical and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 29%
- Work from home 40%
- Transit, walk, or bike 32%
Life in Downtown Seattle, Seattle
Downtown Seattle, Seattle has more restaurants and bars per resident than 94% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 87% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 7 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Downtown Seattle, Seattle and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown Seattle, Seattle, month by month
Downtown Seattle, Seattle sees roughly 153 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 Downtown Seattle, 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.
Downtown Seattle, 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 Downtown Seattle, Seattle against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Downtown Seattle, Seattle suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of neighborhoods and 40% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 77% of neighborhoods and health care access beats 59%.
Common questions about living in Downtown Seattle, Seattle
Is Downtown Seattle, Seattle a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown Seattle, Seattle ranks 181st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on transit, population health, and an educated workforce, and lowest on childcare costs and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown Seattle, Seattle expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,255,910. The overall cost of living runs about 53% above the national average. Set against a $171,641 median income, cost of living beats 88% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown Seattle, Seattle safe?
Downtown Seattle, Seattle is safer than 15% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,516 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Downtown Seattle, Seattle?
July highs average about 81 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 35. That works out to about 153 pleasant days a year, more than 77% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown Seattle, Seattle good for families?
Schools beat 91% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 15%, and childcare runs $2,022 a month.
Compare Downtown Seattle, Seattle with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown Seattle, Seattle. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown Seattle, 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.
Downtown Seattle, Seattle detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown Seattle, Seattle: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown Seattle, Seattle: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown Seattle, Seattle: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown Seattle, Seattle: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown Seattle, 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.