Best PlacesMetaline, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Metaline, 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.
Metaline ranks 31,201st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Metaline
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.
Metaline's strengths and weaknesses
Where Metaline ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of towns
- Short commute17.0 minutes each way, better than 95% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 86% of towns
- QuietBetter than 84% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 80% of towns
Where Metaline ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 8% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Household income$49,621 median, better than only 12% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Metaline
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Metaline home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $49,621, 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 Metaline's effective rate of 0.51%, 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 Metaline
Metaline 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 Metaline.
Who works in Metaline, and how
Work in Metaline centers on education and public administration. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 66%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 19%
Life in Metaline
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Metaline.
What the weather is like in Metaline, month by month
Metaline sees roughly 118 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 28° | 24° |
| April | 57° | 45° | 35° |
| July | 85° | 70° | 54° |
| October | 55° | 44° | 36° |
Flying in and out of Metaline
The nearest airport, Spokane International, is about 85 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 246 miles away.
Metaline 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 Metaline against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Metaline
Is Metaline a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Metaline ranks 31,201st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low disaster risk, short commutes, and low taxes, and lowest on a weak job market and distance from a big city. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Metaline expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $268,749. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $49,621 median income, cost of living beats 12% of towns.
Is Metaline safe?
Yes, Metaline is safer than 68% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $329 per resident a year.
Compare Metaline with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Metaline. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Metaline 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.
Metaline detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Metaline: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Metaline: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Metaline: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Metaline: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Metaline 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.