Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 49/100
D+
Median home value$938,600
Seattle $717,500
Median rent$2,030/mo
Seattle $2,000/mo
Cost-burdened households35%
Seattle 35%
Seattle
King County754,195 residentsSeattle School District No. 1
70
B−
Suburbgrade score
8th of 59 Seattle suburbs. Strong on amenities and commute & transport, held back by housing & affordability.
70
Seattle median 59
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Seattle yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 70 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 Seattle is like to live in, by category
Bars show Seattle against Seattle. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 72/100
B−
Within-state proficiency89th pct
Seattle median 70th pct
Student–teacher ratio17.0
Seattle median 18.4
Graduation rate83%
Seattle median 88%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 66/100
C+
Housing cost index110
Seattle 100
Eff. tax rate0.72%
Seattle 0.77%
Local sales tax10.55%
Seattle median 10.30%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 74/100
B
Mean commute26.0 min
Seattle 29.2 min
Under 30 minutes60%
Seattle 55%
Transit stops / sq mi38
Seattle median 8.8 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 100/100
A+
Restaurants & cafés1,096
Seattle median 84 · within 2 miles
Groceries29
Seattle median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks150
Seattle median 95 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 67/100
C+
Median household income$123,860
Seattle $115,177
Unemployment4.6%
Seattle 4.8%
Professional occupations67%
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 Seattle 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 Seattle on housing & affordability
Seattle's weakest grade is D+. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Sammamish15 mi from SeattleB+ 70 B− Cottage Lake16 mi from SeattleB+ 65 C+ Mercer Island7 mi from SeattleB 75 B Snoqualmie23 mi from SeattleB 69 B− Union Hill-Novelty Hill16 mi from SeattleB 64 C+ Mill Creek East17 mi from SeattleB 67 C+ Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Seattle
Is Seattle, WA a good place to live?
Seattle scores 70 out of 100, 8th of 59 Seattle suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Seattle expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C+. The median home is $938,600, 31% above the Seattle median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.72%. $2,030/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Seattle?
Schools grade B−. The districts serving Seattle sit at the 89th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 83% graduation rate and a 17.0 student–teacher ratio. Seattle is served by Seattle School District No. 1. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Seattle?
The mean commute is 26.0 min, with 60% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 35% working from home. Transit density is 38 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Seattle?
Within two miles there are 29 groceries, 1,096 restaurants and cafés and 150 parks, which grades A+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Seattle old or new?
The median home in Seattle was built in 1976 — 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. 43% 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.