The answer is, it depends (as it is often does). Every family will have a different set of priorities and needs. For example, being near the parents’ place of work will be very important for some families. For others, it might be access to certain services. However, the factors that many families will want to consider, or at least be aware of are school quality, safety, amenities and diversity. Whether you’re moving to the greater Seattle area with kids, or just looking around to see whether your family should make a move, we’ve done the research on the factors above.
What do you mean by “greater Seattle”?
There is no formal definition as far as we could tell, but for this article we consider Seattle proper, plus most of the cities and towns adjacent to Seattle. This would encompass most of the locations that are commutable to Seattle.
Here’s a map (courtesy of https://www.k12.wa.us/about-ospi/about-school-districts/maps-applications, outline in purple added):
If you are just looking for the punchline, below is the data we are working with. If you want more explanation and color, read on.
Which parts of greater Seattle have the best schools?
While test scores definitely aren’t everything, they can be an important data point about school quality. Using the overall school rating from GreatSchools.org (which according to its website factors in test scores, academic progress, equity and college readiness), we can get a sense of the school districts that serve the greater Seattle region. Keep in mind though that schools can vary widely within a district and heck, even teachers can vary widely within one school. Still, for many parents, it’s worthwhile knowing what their school district is like overall.
When looking solely at school district performance through the GreatSchools rating system, it’s clear that the Eastside schools (“Eastside” generally refers to the towns and cities immediately east of Seattle, including Mercer Island, Bellevue, Issaquah, Redmond and Kirkland) stand a cut above. According to GreatSchools data, the great majority of the schools in these districts perform above average for Washington state. Seattle proper falls somewhere in the middle, with about half the schools performing above average. School districts to the south tend to underperform relative to the state average.
Which parts of greater Seattle are more or less safe for families?
As a rough measure of crime rates for the cities and towns we are considering, we took the total count of crime incidents in 2019 supplied by cityrating.com and divided it by the total population count from the Census. While these incidents include various types (violent crimes, property crimes, etc), they should give us a rough sense of the safety concerns in each area. Here, the islands (Mercer Island and Bainbridge Island) come in with the lowest rates of crime incidents (perhaps because it’s harder to escape if you’ve committed a crime on an island?), followed by the northern and eastern suburbs of Seattle (Shoreline, Bellevue, Issaquah, Redmond, Kirkland). Seattle itself and its southern suburbs tend to have somewhat higher crime, with the notable exception of Tukwila which appears to have a significantly higher rate of criminal incidents.
Which parts of greater Seattle are the most walkable for families?
When you have kids, particularly young kids, it can be a lifesaver to be able to walk to a coffee shop or the park. It can mean the difference on a weekly or even daily basis, between spending that odd one-hour prior to dinner time outside versus in front of the TV. Seattle, unsurprisingly, as the largest and most dense city in the area, comes in first in walkability with a walk score of 74. According to FlyHomes, a walk score measures the walkability of homes to “bars, restaurants, gyms, grocery stores, coffee shops, movie theaters, schools, drug stores, ha”bars, restaurants, fitness centers, grocery stores, coffee shops, movie theaters, schools, drug stores, hardware stores, clothing and music stores, parks, libraries, and book stores.” The city’s Parks and Recreation webpage boasts that 99% of Seattle residents live within a 10-minute walk to a city park or greenspace. Nearby cities don’t really come close to Seattle in terms of overall walkability but Shoreline, Kirkland, and Burien make up the next set with walkability scores in the 50s. However, remember that like schools within districts, walkability can vary significantly from one part of a city to another. Even a city that is less “walkable” like Mercer Island (walkability score 33) has neighborhoods that are closer to retail areas.
Which parts of greater Seattle are the most diverse?
In general terms, the Eastside tends to be 50-70% white and 15-40% Asian with a very low percentage of people who are black or Hispanic. Seattle proper and Shoreline to the north is about 65% white, 17% Asian, 7% black and 7% Hispanic. South of Seattle, cities tend to have a lower percentage of white residents and higher percentages of black, Hispanic and Asian residents. Again, while city-level information may be helpful, diversity can vary significantly from neighborhood to neighborhood within cities.
So, where is the best place to live in the greater Seattle area for families with kids?
Like we said, it depends!
If diversity and home affordability is what matters to you the most, you may want to consider the cities south of Seattle. However, you may be trading off safety, school quality and walkability.
If safety and school quality is paramount, then the Eastside of Seattle may be strong contenders. However, you may trade off walkability and some aspects of diversity. Plus, homes tend to be more expensive in these cities.
If you’re looking for something in the middle in terms of school quality, safety and diversity, Seattle proper might be a good candidate. Plus, you get the best walkability in the state! However, homes still aren’t cheap in the city and schools, safety and diversity range widely across Seattle neighborhoods.
Anything else you would consider? Where do you land in all of this?
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