Best PlacesEast Central, Spokane, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around East Central, Spokane, 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.
East Central, Spokane ranks 2,592nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in East Central, Spokane
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.
East Central, Spokane's strengths and weaknesses
Where East Central, Spokane ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Short commute16.8 minutes each way, better than 94% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 79% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 62% of neighborhoods
Where East Central, Spokane ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 37% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 38% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in East Central, Spokane
A household needs to earn about $81,000 a year to comfortably buy the median East Central, Spokane home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $75,598; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 East Central, Spokane's effective rate of 0.77%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in East Central, Spokane
East Central, Spokane 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 East Central, Spokane.
Who works in East Central, Spokane, and how
Work in East Central, Spokane centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in East Central, Spokane
East Central, Spokane has more restaurants and bars per resident than 65% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 78% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of East Central, Spokane and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in East Central, Spokane, month by month
East Central, Spokane 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 East Central, Spokane
The nearest airport, Spokane International, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 230 miles away.
East Central, Spokane 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 East Central, Spokane against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in East Central, Spokane
Is East Central, Spokane a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, East Central, Spokane ranks 2,592nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low disaster risk, short commutes, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on distance from a big city and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is East Central, Spokane expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $311,066. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $75,598 median income, cost of living beats 54% of neighborhoods.
Is East Central, Spokane safe?
East Central, Spokane is safer than 52% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $719 per resident a year.
Compare East Central, Spokane with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to East Central, Spokane. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in East Central, Spokane 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.
East Central, Spokane detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for East Central, Spokane: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in East Central, Spokane: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of East Central, Spokane: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in East Central, Spokane: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
East Central, Spokane 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.