Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 74/100
B
Median home value$1,218,500
Seattle $717,500
Median rent$2,556/mo
Seattle $2,000/mo
Cost-burdened households27%
Seattle 35%
Union Hill-Novelty Hill
King County23,047 residents2 school districts
64
C+
Suburbgrade score
20th of 59 Seattle suburbs. Strong on schools and housing & affordability, held back by amenities.
64
Seattle median 59
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Union Hill-Novelty Hill yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 64 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 Union Hill-Novelty Hill is like to live in, by category
Bars show Union Hill-Novelty Hill against Seattle. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 79/100
B+
Within-state proficiency97th pct
Seattle median 70th pct
Student–teacher ratio17.6
Seattle median 18.4
Graduation rate92%
Seattle median 88%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 52/100
D+
Housing cost index136
Seattle 100
Eff. tax rate0.83%
Seattle 0.77%
Local sales tax10.30%
Seattle median 10.30%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 61/100
C
Mean commute28.4 min
Seattle 29.2 min
Under 30 minutes60%
Seattle 55%
Transit stops / sq mi1.6
Seattle median 8.8 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 50/100
D+
Restaurants & cafés16
Seattle median 84 · within 2 miles
Groceries1
Seattle median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks70
Seattle median 95 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 60/100
C
Median household income$185,369
Seattle $115,177
Unemployment5.8%
Seattle 4.8%
Professional occupations77%
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 Union Hill-Novelty Hill 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 Union Hill-Novelty Hill on amenities
Union Hill-Novelty Hill's weakest grade is D+. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same six inputs.
SuburbAmenitiesOverall
Seattle16 mi from Union Hill-Novelty HillA+ 70 B− Lynnwood16 mi from Union Hill-Novelty HillA+ 59 C Bellevue9 mi from Union Hill-Novelty HillA+ 74 B Kent22 mi from Union Hill-Novelty HillA+ 55 C− Renton16 mi from Union Hill-Novelty HillA+ 58 C Kirkland8 mi from Union Hill-Novelty HillA 74 B Restaurants & cafés: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026 · Groceries: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026
Common questions about living in Union Hill-Novelty Hill
Is Union Hill-Novelty Hill, WA a good place to live?
Union Hill-Novelty Hill scores 64 out of 100, 20th of 59 Seattle suburbs. It is strongest on schools and weakest on amenities. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Union Hill-Novelty Hill expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades D+. The median home is $1,218,500, 70% above the Seattle median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.83%. $2,556/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Union Hill-Novelty Hill?
Schools grade B+. The districts serving Union Hill-Novelty Hill sit at the 97th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 92% graduation rate and a 17.6 student–teacher ratio. Union Hill-Novelty Hill is served by Lake Washington School District and Riverview School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Union Hill-Novelty Hill?
The mean commute is 28.4 min, with 60% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 45% working from home. Transit density is 1.6 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Union Hill-Novelty Hill?
Within two miles there are 1 groceries, 16 restaurants and cafés and 70 parks, which grades D+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Union Hill-Novelty Hill old or new?
The median home in Union Hill-Novelty Hill was built in 2002 — 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. 90% 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.