Best PlacesWashington, UT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Washington, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Washington ranks 900th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Washington
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.
Washington's strengths and weaknesses
Where Washington ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 98% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of cities
- Short commute18.2 minutes each way, better than 93% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 169 pleasant days a year, better than 87% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of cities
Where Washington ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 3% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than only 9% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 10% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Washington
A household needs to earn about $141,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Washington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $94,016, 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 Washington's effective rate of 0.38%, 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 Washington
Washington's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Washington.
Who works in Washington, and how
Work in Washington centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Washington
Washington has more parkland per resident than 81% of cities. That concentrates in some parts of Washington and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Washington, month by month
Washington sees roughly 169 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 104 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 41° | 30° |
| April | 79° | 63° | 47° |
| July | 104° | 90° | 74° |
| October | 81° | 64° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Washington
The nearest airport, St George Regional, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Harry Reid International, about 116 miles away.
The best schools in and around Washington
Schools across Washington average a B−, better than 56% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Crimson View SchoolA · 71% proficient
- Horizon SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- South Mesa ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
Top middle schools
- Washington Fields IntermediateA · 60% proficient
- Sunrise Ridge IntermediateA− · 57% proficient
- Fossil Ridge IntermediateC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Crimson Cliffs HighB+ · 54% proficient
- Desert Hills HighB+ · 51% proficient
- St. George AcademyB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Washington school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Washington 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 Washington against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Washington suits
Retirees
The weather beats 87% of cities and health care access beats 66%.
Common questions about living in Washington
Is Washington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Washington ranks 900th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on a strong job market, low property taxes, and short commutes, and lowest on tree cover 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 Washington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $570,699. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $94,016 median income, cost of living beats 53% of cities.
Is Washington safe?
Yes, Washington is safer than 82% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $258 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Washington?
July highs average about 104 degrees, and January highs near 54 with lows near 30. That works out to about 169 pleasant days a year, more than 87% of cities.
Is Washington good for families?
Schools beat 56% of cities, crime safety beats 82%, and childcare runs $929 a month.
Compare Washington with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Washington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Washington 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.
Washington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Washington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Washington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Washington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Washington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Washington 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.