Best PlacesFederal Way, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Federal Way, 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.
Federal Way ranks 1,180th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Federal Way
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.
Federal Way's strengths and weaknesses
Where Federal Way ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of cities
- BikingBetter than 87% of cities
- TransitBetter than 86% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 83% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 79% of cities
Where Federal Way ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,022 a month, better than only 3% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than only 9% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than only 10% of cities
- Short commute31.8 minutes each way, better than only 15% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 19% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Federal Way
A household needs to earn about $140,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Federal Way home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $99,023, 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 Federal Way's effective rate of 0.80%, 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 Federal Way
Federal Way's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Federal Way.
Who works in Federal Way, and how
Work in Federal Way 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 76%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Federal Way
Federal Way has more restaurants and bars per resident than 71% of cities and more parkland per resident than 85% of cities. The coast is about 4 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Federal Way and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Federal Way, month by month
Federal Way sees roughly 126 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 42° | 36° |
| April | 61° | 51° | 42° |
| July | 81° | 67° | 56° |
| October | 63° | 53° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Federal Way
Seattle-Tacoma International sits about 10 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 25.4 million passengers in 2025, with 172 nonstop destinations.
Federal Way 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 Federal Way against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Federal Way suits
Common questions about living in Federal Way
Is Federal Way a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Federal Way ranks 1,180th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on clean air, biking, and transit, 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 Federal Way expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $536,799. The overall cost of living runs about 11% above the national average. Set against a $99,023 median income, cost of living beats 41% of cities.
Is Federal Way safe?
Federal Way is safer than 10% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $673 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Federal Way?
July highs average about 81 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 36. That works out to about 126 pleasant days a year, more than 72% of cities.
Is Federal Way good for families?
Schools beat 35% of cities, crime safety beats 10%, and childcare runs $2,022 a month.
Compare Federal Way with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Federal Way. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Federal Way 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.
Federal Way detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Federal Way: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Federal Way: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Federal Way: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Federal Way: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Federal Way 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.