Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 39/100
D−
Median home value$445,700
Seattle $717,500
Median rent$1,813/mo
Seattle $2,000/mo
Cost-burdened households33%
Seattle 35%
Spanaway
Pierce County34,019 residentsBethel School District
48
D+
Suburbgrade score
55th of 59 Seattle suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by commute & transport.
48
Seattle median 59
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Spanaway yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 48 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 Spanaway is like to live in, by category
Bars show Spanaway 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 ratio18.6
Seattle median 18.4
Graduation rate87%
Seattle median 88%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 72/100
B−
Housing cost index76
Seattle 100
Eff. tax rate0.95%
Seattle 0.77%
Local sales tax9.60%
Seattle median 10.30%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 21/100
F
Mean commute37.3 min
Seattle 29.2 min
Under 30 minutes41%
Seattle 55%
Transit stops / sq mi2.6
Seattle median 8.8 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 62/100
C
Restaurants & cafés34
Seattle median 84 · within 2 miles
Groceries3
Seattle median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks128
Seattle median 95 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 49/100
D+
Median household income$98,251
Seattle $115,177
Unemployment4.7%
Seattle 4.8%
Professional occupations33%
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 Spanaway 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 Spanaway on commute & transport
Spanaway's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCommuteOverall
SeaTac25 mi from SpanawayC 50 D+ University Place10 mi from SpanawayC 60 C Tacoma11 mi from SpanawayC 55 C− Lakewood7 mi from SpanawayD+ 49 D+ Kent22 mi from SpanawayD 55 C− Auburn17 mi from SpanawayD 53 C− Mean commute: ACS 2020–24 · Commuting under 30 minutes: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Spanaway
Is Spanaway, WA a good place to live?
Spanaway scores 48 out of 100, 55th 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 Spanaway expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B−. The median home is $445,700, 38% below the Seattle median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.95%. $1,813/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Spanaway?
Schools grade D+. The districts serving Spanaway sit at the 49th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 87% graduation rate and a 18.6 student–teacher ratio. Spanaway is served by Bethel School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Spanaway?
The mean commute is 37.3 min, with 41% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 10% working from home. Transit density is 2.6 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Spanaway?
Within two miles there are 3 groceries, 34 restaurants and cafés and 128 parks, which grades C on amenities.
Are the homes in Spanaway old or new?
The median home in Spanaway was built in 1989 — 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. 85% 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.