Seattle

Best Seattle suburbs for families

Ranked on a families weighting: schools at 30%, amenities within two miles at 20%, and the four poll questions about children, safety and sidewalks at 20%. Cost still counts, at 15%. The full weighting is shown at the bottom, and it is not the same as the overall score.

Updated Sep 2026·59 suburbs considered, 10 listed
1
Drone view of Redmond, Washington State, USA
Redmond$1.17M median · 22.1 min commute
Schools A−Amenities AResidents inactive
79
Family score
overall 75 B
2
The downtown waterfront area of Kirkland, Washington, on the shores of Lake Washington.
Kirkland$1.12M median · 23.9 min commute
Schools A−Amenities AResidents inactive
78
Family score
overall 74 B
3
Drone view of Downtown Bellevue, Washington State, USA
Bellevue$1.34M median · 23.6 min commute
Schools B+Amenities A+Residents inactive
78
Family score
overall 74 B
4
Drone view of Issaquah, Washington State, USA
Issaquah$963k median · 25.3 min commute
Schools B+Amenities AResidents inactive
76
Family score
overall 73 B
5
Seattle Center as night falls.
Seattle$939k median · 26.0 min commute
Schools B−Amenities A+Residents inactive
75
Family score
overall 70 B−
6
Aerial photo of Mercer Island as seen from the north-west on a commercial flight from Seattle to Detroit. Despite bringing a microfiber cloth to clean the aircr
Mercer Island$2.00M+ median · 23.6 min commute
Schools A−Amenities B−Residents inactive
74
Family score
overall 75 B
7
Photo of Kenmore, Washington's harbour, taken by Dara Korra'ti (Solarbird) in autumn 2005, from the Uplake neighbourhood in Kenmore. The start of the industrial
Kenmore$921k median · 28.8 min commute
Schools B+Amenities BResidents inactive
73
Family score
overall 68 B−
8
Looking eastbound on Main Street from 101st Avenue in downtown Bothell, Washington.
Bothell$925k median · 27.7 min commute
Schools B+Amenities B+Residents inactive
73
Family score
overall 69 B−
9
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Woodinville, Washington, U.S. Photo by Ron Zimmerman. Use only with credit.
Woodinville$1.10M median · 25.5 min commute
Schools B+Amenities BResidents inactive
73
Family score
overall 70 B−
10
Looking north on Main Street in the Mill Creek Town Center, a shopping district in Mill Creek, Washington.
Mill Creek$904k median · 33.0 min commute
Schools BAmenities B+Residents inactive
71
Family score
overall 65 C+
This list's weighting
Schools 30%Amenities 20%Resident poll (Q2, Q5, Q6, Q8) 20%Cost of living 15%Housing 10%Commute 5%

Poll components only count for places with eight or more resident responses; for the others the remaining weights re-normalise to 100%.

Other Seattle lists
Most affordable Seattle suburbsBest Seattle suburbs for schoolsShortest commutes to Downtown SeattleMost walkable Seattle suburbsBest Seattle suburbs for young professionalsHow we score Seattle suburbs →

Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Redmond (Spicypepper999 · CC0); Kirkland (Jelson25 · CC BY-SA 3.0); Bellevue (Spicypepper999 · CC0); Issaquah (Spicypepper999 · CC0); Seattle (Jeffery Hayes · CC BY-SA 3.0); Mercer Island (Dllu · CC BY-SA 4.0); Kenmore (The original uploader was Solarbird at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 2.5); Bothell (SounderBruce · CC BY-SA 4.0); Woodinville (FloweringHearth · CC BY 2.5); Mill Creek (SounderBruce · CC BY-SA 4.0).