Best PlacesJefferson County, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Jefferson County, 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.
Jefferson County ranks 736th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Jefferson County
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.
Jefferson County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Jefferson County ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 91% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 90% of counties
Where Jefferson County ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,375 a month, better than only 4% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 25% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 29% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Jefferson County
A household needs to earn about $136,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jefferson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $76,647, 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 Jefferson County's effective rate of 0.64%, 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 Jefferson County
Jefferson County runs older 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 Jefferson County.
Who works in Jefferson County, and how
Work in Jefferson County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 66%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Jefferson County
The coast is about 8 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Jefferson County, which the map shows.
Is Jefferson County growing, and who is moving in?
Jefferson County has grown about 13% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Seattle, WA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Jefferson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Jefferson County, month by month
Jefferson County sees roughly 116 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 69 degrees. January highs sit near 50, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 50° | 43° | 36° |
| April | 58° | 50° | 42° |
| July | 69° | 60° | 53° |
| October | 61° | 52° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Jefferson County
The nearest airport, Seattle Paine Field International, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 45 miles away.
Jefferson County 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 Jefferson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Jefferson County suits
Retirees
The weather beats 72% of counties, health care access beats 91%, and it is quieter than 78%.
Common questions about living in Jefferson County
Is Jefferson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jefferson County ranks 736th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on civic engagement, clean air, and an educated workforce, and lowest on an overheated housing market and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Jefferson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $531,415. The overall cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. Set against a $76,647 median income, cost of living beats 49% of counties.
Is Jefferson County safe?
Jefferson County is safer than 29% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $553 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Jefferson County?
July highs average about 69 degrees, and January highs near 50 with lows near 36. That works out to about 116 pleasant days a year, more than 72% of counties.
Is Jefferson County good for families?
Schools beat 55% of counties, crime safety beats 29%, and childcare runs $1,375 a month.
Compare Jefferson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jefferson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jefferson County 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.
Jefferson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jefferson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jefferson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jefferson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jefferson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jefferson County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.