Best PlacesMontlake, Seattle, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Montlake, Seattle, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Montlake, Seattle ranks 218th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on high incomes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Montlake, Seattle
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.
Montlake, Seattle's strengths and weaknesses
Where Montlake, Seattle ranks high
- Household income$196,572 median, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
Where Montlake, Seattle ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,022 a month, better than only 7% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 27% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Montlake, Seattle
A household needs to earn about $402,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Montlake, Seattle home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $196,572, 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 Montlake, Seattle's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 Montlake, Seattle
Montlake, Seattle runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Montlake, Seattle.
Who works in Montlake, Seattle, and how
Work in Montlake, Seattle centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 44%
- Work from home 34%
- Transit, walk, or bike 23%
Life in Montlake, Seattle
Montlake, Seattle has more parkland per resident than 98% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 4 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Montlake, Seattle and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Montlake, Seattle, month by month
Montlake, Seattle sees roughly 154 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 Montlake, Seattle
The nearest airport, Boeing Field/King County International, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 13 miles away.
Montlake, Seattle 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 Montlake, Seattle against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Montlake, Seattle
Is Montlake, Seattle a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Montlake, Seattle ranks 218th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on high incomes, an educated workforce, and tree cover, 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 Montlake, Seattle expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,561,524. The overall cost of living runs about 44% above the national average. Set against a $196,572 median income, cost of living beats 96% of neighborhoods.
Is Montlake, Seattle safe?
Montlake, Seattle is safer than 21% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $883 per resident a year.
Compare Montlake, Seattle with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Montlake, Seattle. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Montlake, Seattle 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.
Montlake, Seattle detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Montlake, Seattle: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Montlake, Seattle: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Montlake, Seattle: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Montlake, Seattle: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Montlake, Seattle 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.