Best PlacesWestlake, Seattle, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Westlake, 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.
Westlake, Seattle ranks 508th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Westlake, 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.
Westlake, Seattle's strengths and weaknesses
Where Westlake, Seattle ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Household income$149,447 median, better than 91% of neighborhoods
Where Westlake, Seattle ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$2,022 a month, better than only 7% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Westlake, Seattle
A household needs to earn about $202,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Westlake, Seattle home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $149,447, 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 Westlake, Seattle's effective rate of 0.77%, 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 Westlake, Seattle
Westlake, Seattle runs younger 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 Westlake, Seattle.
Who works in Westlake, Seattle, and how
Work in Westlake, Seattle centers on retail trade and professional & technical. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 31%
- Work from home 37%
- Transit, walk, or bike 32%
Life in Westlake, Seattle
Westlake, Seattle has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 2 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Westlake, Seattle and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Westlake, Seattle, month by month
Westlake, 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 Westlake, Seattle
The nearest airport, Boeing Field/King County International, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Seattle-Tacoma International, about 13 miles away.
Westlake, 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 Westlake, Seattle against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Westlake, Seattle
Is Westlake, Seattle a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Westlake, Seattle ranks 508th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on population health, an educated workforce, and transit, and lowest on noise and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Westlake, Seattle expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $777,942. The overall cost of living runs about 32% above the national average. Set against a $149,447 median income, cost of living beats 90% of neighborhoods.
Is Westlake, Seattle safe?
Westlake, Seattle is safer than 15% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $997 per resident a year.
Compare Westlake, Seattle with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Westlake, Seattle. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Westlake, 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.
Westlake, Seattle detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Westlake, Seattle: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Westlake, Seattle: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Westlake, Seattle: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Westlake, Seattle: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Westlake, 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.