Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 62/100
C
Median home value$1,115,400
Seattle $717,500
Median rent$2,401/mo
Seattle $2,000/mo
Cost-burdened households33%
Seattle 35%
Kirkland
King County92,621 residentsLake Washington School District
74
B
Suburbgrade score
4th of 59 Seattle suburbs. Strong on amenities and schools, held back by cost of living.
74
Seattle median 59
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Kirkland yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 74 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 Kirkland is like to live in, by category
Bars show Kirkland against Seattle. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 83/100
A−
Within-state proficiency99th pct
Seattle median 70th pct
Student–teacher ratio17.8
Seattle median 18.4
Graduation rate93%
Seattle median 88%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 60/100
C
Housing cost index123
Seattle 100
Eff. tax rate0.69%
Seattle 0.77%
Local sales tax10.40%
Seattle median 10.30%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 79/100
B+
Mean commute23.9 min
Seattle 29.2 min
Under 30 minutes65%
Seattle 55%
Transit stops / sq mi16
Seattle median 8.8 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 92/100
A
Restaurants & cafés195
Seattle median 84 · within 2 miles
Groceries10
Seattle median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks101
Seattle median 95 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 69/100
B−
Median household income$150,414
Seattle $115,177
Unemployment4.6%
Seattle 4.8%
Professional occupations66%
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 Kirkland 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 Kirkland on cost of living
Kirkland's weakest grade is C. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCost of livingOverall
Everett19 mi from KirklandB+ 59 C SeaTac18 mi from KirklandB 50 D+ Lynnwood10 mi from KirklandB 59 C Lake Stickney13 mi from KirklandB 58 C Mountlake Terrace8 mi from KirklandB 64 C+ Edmonds11 mi from KirklandB− 67 C+ Cost-of-living index composed in-house from housing cost, utilities, effective property tax and local sales tax · Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Effective property tax: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Kirkland
Is Kirkland, WA a good place to live?
Kirkland scores 74 out of 100, 4th of 59 Seattle suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on cost of living. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Kirkland expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C. The median home is $1,115,400, 55% above the Seattle median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.69%. $2,401/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Kirkland?
Schools grade A−. The districts serving Kirkland sit at the 99th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 93% graduation rate and a 17.8 student–teacher ratio. Kirkland is served by Lake Washington School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Kirkland?
The mean commute is 23.9 min, with 65% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 34% working from home. Transit density is 16 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Kirkland?
Within two miles there are 10 groceries, 195 restaurants and cafés and 101 parks, which grades A on amenities.
Are the homes in Kirkland old or new?
The median home in Kirkland was built in 1984 — close to 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. 59% 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.