Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 49/100
D+
Median home value$473,500
Seattle $717,500
Median rent$2,172/mo
Seattle $2,000/mo
Cost-burdened households30%
Seattle 35%
Elk Plain
Pierce County14,276 residentsBethel School District
46
D
Suburbgrade score
57th of 59 Seattle suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by commute & transport.
46
Seattle median 59
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Elk Plain yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 46 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 Elk Plain is like to live in, by category
Bars show Elk Plain against Seattle. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 51/100
D+
Within-state proficiency49th pct
Seattle median 70th pct
Student–teacher ratio18.3
Seattle median 18.4
Graduation rate87%
Seattle median 88%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 64/100
C+
Housing cost index86
Seattle 100
Eff. tax rate0.92%
Seattle 0.77%
Local sales tax9.60%
Seattle median 10.30%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 15/100
F
Mean commute36.5 min
Seattle 29.2 min
Under 30 minutes34%
Seattle 55%
Transit stops / sq mi0.0
Seattle median 8.8 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 41/100
D−
Restaurants & cafés7
Seattle median 84 · within 2 miles
Groceries1
Seattle median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks34
Seattle median 95 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 57/100
C−
Median household income$107,313
Seattle $115,177
Unemployment3.0%
Seattle 4.8%
Professional occupations30%
Seattle 52%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
—
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 Elk Plain yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
—
Do you feel safe walking after dark?
—
Can you walk to a grocery store?
—
Is it good for young children?
—
Are yards and streets well kept?
—
Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Elk Plain on commute & transport
Elk Plain's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCommuteOverall
University Place15 mi from Elk PlainC 60 C Tacoma15 mi from Elk PlainC 55 C− Lakewood11 mi from Elk PlainD+ 49 D+ Auburn20 mi from Elk PlainD 53 C− Parkland8 mi from Elk PlainD 47 D Artondale23 mi from Elk PlainD 54 C− Mean commute: ACS 2020–24 · Commuting under 30 minutes: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Elk Plain
Is Elk Plain, WA a good place to live?
Elk Plain scores 46 out of 100, 57th of 59 Seattle suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on commute & transport. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Elk Plain expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C+. The median home is $473,500, 34% below the Seattle median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.92%. $2,172/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Elk Plain?
Schools grade D+. The districts serving Elk Plain sit at the 49th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 87% graduation rate and a 18.3 student–teacher ratio. Elk Plain is served by Bethel School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Elk Plain?
The mean commute is 36.5 min, with 34% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 11% working from home. Transit density is 0.0 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Elk Plain?
Within two miles there are 1 groceries, 7 restaurants and cafés and 34 parks, which grades D− on amenities.
Are the homes in Elk Plain old or new?
The median home in Elk Plain was built in 1993 — newer 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. 86% 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.