Best places to live in Washington
2 Washington metros scored on the default family weighting — schools and safety heaviest, then affordability, climate, college pipeline and jobs. Change the weights on the ranking engine to see your own order.
Who lives in Washington
Population-weighted racial and ethnic composition across the 2 tracked Washington metros, from Census ACS table B03002.
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 59.9%
- Hispanic or Latino
- 11.1%
- Black (non-Hispanic)
- 5.5%
- Asian (non-Hispanic)
- 14.1%
- Other or two or more
- 9.4%
Diversity index 73/100 — how evenly the population is spread across these groups. It is descriptive, not a judgement: weight it up, down or to zero on the ranking engine.
| # | Metro | Score | US rank | Typical home | Schools | Safety | Climate | Diversity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle | 55.7 | #35 of 103 | $741k | 91 | 31 | 37° / 79° | 78 |
| 2 | Spokane | 40.6 | #90 of 103 | $425k | 64 | 31 | 24° / 84° | 41 |
Figures are compiled estimates. Methodology and sources.