15 Best Neighborhoods in Seattle

The best places to live in Seattle for playing, eating, shopping, drinking and finding your bliss.
seattle neighborhoods
Every Seattle neighborhood has a distinct signature—the old Hat n’ Boots is part of Georgetown’s DNA

In a city celebrated for its distinct enclaves steeped in neighborhood pride, it’s a tricky proposition selecting The Best. After all, choosing a place to live is an exercise in juggling priorities—affordability, schools, safety, housing, yards, amenities, walkability, views, accessibility—that change over an individual’s lifetime. A 20-something looking for a starter condo and a family of four in need of more space demand different things from their neighborhoods.

And so, we’ve focused on finding the happiest ’hoods (in some cases a town or slice of an outlying city). Each has a lively and individual urban village, good walkability, interesting homes, plenty of green space and a strong community identity. But they’ve gone beyond keeping residents close to home. They are magnets for walkers, shoppers, diners and urban explorers from around the city and beyond.

What makes them worthy? We’ve asked those in the know to provide firsthand insights into what makes their home ’hoods so good, including the locals-only skinny on prized places and events.

The Happy 15

Ballard

Burien

Greenwood/Phinney

Queen Anne

Georgetown

Capitol Hill

Kirkland

Columbia City

Ravenna

West Seattle

Wallingford

West Bellevue

South Lake Union

Edmonds

Madrona

Plus

A Song for the Unsung: Seattle's Underappreciated Neighborhoods

Community-building Neighborhood Websites

The Happiness Index: A Helpful Chart Ranking All the Top Neighborhoods' Amenities (click to download PDF)

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