Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 33/100
F
Median home value$645,200
Seattle $717,500
Median rent$1,595/mo
Seattle $2,000/mo
Cost-burdened households45%
Seattle 35%
White Center
King County14,886 residentsHighline School District
52
D+
Suburbgrade score
47th of 59 Seattle suburbs. Strongest on amenities, held back by housing & affordability.
52
Seattle median 59
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for White Center yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 52 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 White Center is like to live in, by category
Bars show White Center against Seattle. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 36/100
F
Within-state proficiency17th pct
Seattle median 70th pct
Student–teacher ratio17.8
Seattle median 18.4
Graduation rate85%
Seattle median 88%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 69/100
B−
Housing cost index86
Seattle 100
Eff. tax rate0.80%
Seattle 0.77%
Local sales tax10.30%
Seattle median 10.30%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 51/100
D+
Mean commute29.6 min
Seattle 29.2 min
Under 30 minutes47%
Seattle 55%
Transit stops / sq mi19
Seattle median 8.8 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 87/100
A−
Restaurants & cafés106
Seattle median 84 · within 2 miles
Groceries16
Seattle median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks87
Seattle median 95 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 52/100
D+
Median household income$87,189
Seattle $115,177
Unemployment4.9%
Seattle 4.8%
Professional occupations43%
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 White Center 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 White Center on housing & affordability
White Center's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Sammamish16 mi from White CenterB+ 70 B− Cottage Lake21 mi from White CenterB+ 65 C+ Mercer Island7 mi from White CenterB 75 B Snoqualmie22 mi from White CenterB 69 B− Union Hill-Novelty Hill19 mi from White CenterB 64 C+ Mill Creek East24 mi from White CenterB 67 C+ Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in White Center
Is White Center, WA a good place to live?
White Center scores 52 out of 100, 47th 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 White Center expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B−. The median home is $645,200, 10% below the Seattle median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.80%. $1,595/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in White Center?
Schools grade F. The districts serving White Center sit at the 17th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 85% graduation rate and a 17.8 student–teacher ratio. White Center is served by Highline School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from White Center?
The mean commute is 29.6 min, with 47% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 19% working from home. Transit density is 19 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in White Center?
Within two miles there are 16 groceries, 106 restaurants and cafés and 87 parks, which grades A− on amenities.
Are the homes in White Center old or new?
The median home in White Center was built in 1977 — 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. 65% 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.