Best PlacesMoss Bay, Kirkland, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Moss Bay, Kirkland, 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.
Moss Bay, Kirkland ranks 71st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Moss Bay, Kirkland
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.
Moss Bay, Kirkland's strengths and weaknesses
Where Moss Bay, Kirkland ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA+, better than 94% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
Where Moss Bay, Kirkland ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$2,022 a month, better than only 7% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Moss Bay, Kirkland
A household needs to earn about $331,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Moss Bay, Kirkland home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $141,558, 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 Moss Bay, Kirkland's effective rate of 0.82%, 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 Moss Bay, Kirkland
Moss Bay, Kirkland 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 Moss Bay, Kirkland.
Who works in Moss Bay, Kirkland, and how
Work in Moss Bay, Kirkland centers on professional & technical and information. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 54%
- Work from home 36%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Moss Bay, Kirkland
Moss Bay, Kirkland has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 83% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 13 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Moss Bay, Kirkland and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Moss Bay, Kirkland, month by month
Moss Bay, Kirkland 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 Moss Bay, Kirkland
The nearest airport, Boeing Field/King County International, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 16 miles away.
Moss Bay, Kirkland 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 Moss Bay, Kirkland against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Moss Bay, Kirkland
Is Moss Bay, Kirkland a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Moss Bay, Kirkland ranks 71st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on clean air, good schools, and a strong job market, 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 Moss Bay, Kirkland expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,261,291. The overall cost of living runs about 48% above the national average. Set against a $141,558 median income, cost of living beats 80% of neighborhoods.
Is Moss Bay, Kirkland safe?
Yes, Moss Bay, Kirkland is safer than 58% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $576 per resident a year.
Compare Moss Bay, Kirkland with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Moss Bay, Kirkland. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Moss Bay, Kirkland 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.
Moss Bay, Kirkland detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Moss Bay, Kirkland: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Moss Bay, Kirkland: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Moss Bay, Kirkland: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Moss Bay, Kirkland: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Moss Bay, Kirkland 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.