Best PlacesKing County, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in King County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
King County ranks 2,447th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in King 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.
King County's strengths and weaknesses
Where King County ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of counties
- QuietBetter than 99% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of counties
- Short commute12.4 minutes each way, better than 99% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of counties
Where King County ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 1% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 1% of counties
- Household income$46,645 median, better than only 5% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 7% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in King County
A household needs to earn about $15,000 a year to comfortably buy the median King County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $46,645, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 King County's effective rate of 1.40%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in King County
King 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 King County.
Who works in King County, and how
Work in King County centers on education and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in King County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across King County.
Is King County growing, and who is moving in?
King County has lost about 18% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Lamb County, TX.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving King County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in King County, month by month
King County sees roughly 132 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 41° | 30° |
| April | 79° | 62° | 49° |
| July | 98° | 85° | 73° |
| October | 79° | 64° | 52° |
Flying in and out of King County
The nearest airport, Lubbock Preston Smith International, is about 88 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas-Fort Worth International, about 195 miles away.
The best schools in and around King County
Schools across King County average an A−, better than 87% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Munday ElB · 48% proficient
- Childress ElB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Childress H SB · 47% proficient
- Munday SecondaryC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every King County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
King 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 King County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in King County
Is King County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, King County ranks 2,447th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a strong job market, quiet, and a stable housing market, and lowest on walkability and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is King County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $52,100. The overall cost of living runs about 26% below the national average. Set against a $46,645 median income, cost of living beats 17% of counties.
Is King County safe?
King County is safer than 1% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,023 per resident a year.
Compare King County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to King County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in King 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.
King County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for King County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in King County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of King County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in King County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
King 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.