Best PlacesKing County, WA 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. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
King County ranks 51st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $139,815, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are childcare costs, noise, and state infrastructure.
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.
The best areas in King County
The parts of King County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Bellevue, Sammamish & Issaquah
Crime runs lower, local pay stretches further, and incomes run higher.
Redmond, Union Hill-Novelty Hill & Cottage Lake
More adults hold degrees, though streets are more car-dependent.
Kirkland, Kenmore & Inglewood-Finn Hill
Fewer households have young kids.
Seattle
Transit reaches more jobs and biking is better.
Mercer Island
Scores close to Seattle, except that fewer residents vote here.
White Center
Tree cover is thinner and it is noisier.
Renton, Maple Valley & East Hill-Meridian
Commutes are longer.
Federal Way & Burien
Homes cost less, though schools score lower.
Kent, Auburn & SeaTac
Health care is harder to reach and health outcomes score lower.
King County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 2% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
King County's strengths and weaknesses
King County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Population health is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Transit and biking follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. Noise and state infrastructure also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where King County ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of counties
- TransitBetter than 99% of counties
- BikingBetter than 99% of counties
- Household income$139,815 median, better than 99% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of counties
Where King County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,022 a month, better than only 1% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 8% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 15% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 16% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in King County
A household needs to earn about $238,000 a year to comfortably buy the median King County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $139,815, 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 King County's effective rate of 0.78%, 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 King County
King County's age mix sits close to the national median.
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 professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 59%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in King County
King County has more parkland per resident than 74% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 91% of counties. The coast is about 10 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of King County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is King County growing, and who is moving in?
King County has grown about 12% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Seattle, WA metro.
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 144 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 King County
The nearest airport, Boeing Field/King County International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 8 miles away.
The best schools in and around King County
Schools across King County average a B+, better than 80% of counties.
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.
Who King County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 95% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 28% already work from home.
Common questions about living in King County
Is King County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, King County ranks 51st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on population health, transit, and biking, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. 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 $911,652. The overall cost of living runs about 26% above the national average. Set against a $139,815 median income, cost of living beats 95% of counties.
Is King County safe?
King County is safer than 15% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $727 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in King County?
July highs average about 81 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 35. That works out to about 144 pleasant days a year, more than 90% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in King County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Bellevue, Sammamish & Issaquah, Redmond, Union Hill-Novelty Hill & Cottage Lake, and Kirkland, Kenmore & Inglewood-Finn Hill. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is King County good for families?
Schools beat 80% of counties, crime safety beats 15%, and childcare runs $2,022 a month.
Is King County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 95% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 75% of counties. About 28% of workers already work from home.
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.