Best PlacesSnohomish County, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Snohomish 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.
Snohomish County ranks 102nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $123,096, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are childcare costs, an overheated housing market, and state infrastructure.
The best neighborhoods in Snohomish 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 Snohomish County
The parts of Snohomish 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.
Bothell, Mill Creek East & Mill Creek
More adults hold degrees, local pay stretches further, and incomes run higher.
Snohomish
More households have young kids, though biking is worse.
Lynnwood, Edmonds & North Lynnwood
Transit reaches more jobs, though it is noisier.
Lake Stevens, Arlington & Granite Falls
Crime runs lower and tree cover is thicker.
Monroe & Gold Bar
More residents vote, though streets are more car-dependent.
Eastmont
Commutes are shorter, though prices have run up more.
Everett & Mukilteo
Schools score lower.
Stanwood
Health outcomes score lower and more homes sit empty.
Marysville
Homes cost less.
Snohomish County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 7% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Snohomish County's strengths and weaknesses
Snohomish County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Transit is the standout, in the top 2% of counties. High incomes and few empty homes follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. An overheated housing market 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 Snohomish County ranks high
- TransitBetter than 98% of counties
- Household income$123,096 median, better than 97% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 96% of counties
- BikingBetter than 96% of counties
Where Snohomish County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,516 a month, better than only 2% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of counties
- Short commute30.8 minutes each way, better than only 12% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 22% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Snohomish County
A household needs to earn about $184,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Snohomish County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $123,096, 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 Snohomish County's effective rate of 0.72%, 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 Snohomish County
Snohomish 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 Snohomish County.
Who works in Snohomish County, and how
Work in Snohomish County centers on manufacturing 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 73%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Snohomish County
Snohomish County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more late-night spots per resident than 72% of counties. The coast is about 10 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Snohomish County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Snohomish County growing, and who is moving in?
Snohomish County has grown about 14% 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 Snohomish County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Snohomish County, month by month
Snohomish County sees roughly 129 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 76 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 42° | 36° |
| April | 59° | 50° | 42° |
| July | 76° | 64° | 55° |
| October | 60° | 52° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Snohomish County
The nearest airport, Seattle Paine Field International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 34 miles away.
Snohomish 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 Snohomish County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Snohomish County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 91% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 20% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Snohomish County
Is Snohomish County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Snohomish County ranks 102nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on transit, high incomes, and few empty homes, and lowest on childcare costs and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Snohomish County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $709,637. The overall cost of living runs about 17% above the national average. Set against a $123,096 median income, cost of living beats 91% of counties.
Is Snohomish County safe?
Yes, Snohomish County is safer than 81% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $376 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Snohomish County?
July highs average about 76 degrees, and January highs near 48 with lows near 36. That works out to about 129 pleasant days a year, more than 81% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Snohomish County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Bothell, Mill Creek East & Mill Creek, Snohomish, and Lynnwood, Edmonds & North Lynnwood. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Snohomish County good for families?
Schools beat 68% of counties, crime safety beats 81%, and childcare runs $1,516 a month.
Is Snohomish County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 91% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 94% of counties. About 20% of workers already work from home.
Compare Snohomish County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Snohomish County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Snohomish 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.
Snohomish County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Snohomish County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Snohomish County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Snohomish County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Snohomish County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Snohomish 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.