Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 40/100
D−
Median home value$638,800
Seattle $717,500
Median rent$1,782/mo
Seattle $2,000/mo
Cost-burdened households37%
Seattle 35%
Burien
King County51,513 residentsHighline School District
53
C−
Suburbgrade score
44th of 59 Seattle suburbs. Strongest on amenities, held back by schools.
53
Seattle median 59
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Burien yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 53 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Burien is like to live in, by category
Bars show Burien against Seattle. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 34/100
F
Within-state proficiency17th pct
Seattle median 70th pct
Student–teacher ratio18.7
Seattle median 18.4
Graduation rate85%
Seattle median 88%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 66/100
C+
Housing cost index93
Seattle 100
Eff. tax rate0.84%
Seattle 0.77%
Local sales tax10.40%
Seattle median 10.30%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 61/100
C
Mean commute26.7 min
Seattle 29.2 min
Under 30 minutes59%
Seattle 55%
Transit stops / sq mi10
Seattle median 8.8 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 90/100
A
Restaurants & cafés126
Seattle median 84 · within 2 miles
Groceries12
Seattle median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks59
Seattle median 95 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 40/100
D−
Median household income$91,318
Seattle $115,177
Unemployment7.0%
Seattle 4.8%
Professional occupations39%
Seattle 52%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Burien yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Burien on schools
Burien's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbSchoolsOverall
Redmond18 mi from BurienA− 75 B Kirkland17 mi from BurienA− 74 B Mercer Island8 mi from BurienA− 75 B Kenmore19 mi from BurienB+ 68 B− Woodinville22 mi from BurienB+ 70 B− Bothell22 mi from BurienB+ 69 B− Within-state proficiency: EDFacts SY2021–22 · Graduation rate: EDFacts ACGR SY2018–19
Common questions about living in Burien
Is Burien, WA a good place to live?
Burien scores 53 out of 100, 44th of 59 Seattle suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on schools. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Burien expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C+. The median home is $638,800, 11% below the Seattle median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.84%. $1,782/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Burien?
Schools grade F. The districts serving Burien sit at the 17th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 85% graduation rate and a 18.7 student–teacher ratio. Burien is served by Highline School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Burien?
The mean commute is 26.7 min, with 59% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 19% working from home. Transit density is 10 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Burien?
Within two miles there are 12 groceries, 126 restaurants and cafés and 59 parks, which grades A on amenities.
Are the homes in Burien old or new?
The median home in Burien was built in 1966 — older than the Seattle median of 1985. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 60% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.