These Eastside cities were ranked the best to live in Washington by U.S. News & World Report.
SAMMAMISH, Wash. — Four cities on the Eastside were named to U.S. News & World Report’s 250 Best Places to Live.
Sammamish (No. 21 in the ranking), Redmond (No. 75), Bellevue (No. 90) and Kirkland (No. 151) all made the list, which was released Tuesday.
U.S. News & World Report determined its ranking based on a location having good value, being a desirable place to live, having a strong job market and offering a high quality of life.
Sammamish was also ranked as the No. 12 best small city to live in the U.S. and the No. 98 best place to retire in Washington.Â
All four cities have a higher cost of living than the national average. Home values were more than three times the national average in the cases of Sammamish and Bellevue, where the average home is valued at over $1.3 million, according to the report.
However, the average resident makes a lot more than the national average as well, with median household income well over six figures for all four cities. Sammamish had the highest median household income of the four at $247,657.
On the education front, both the Bellevue and Lake Washington school districts recorded test scores above the state average in the 2024-25 school year, according to data from the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
In 2024, the crime rate in all four cities was lower than the statewide average, which was 56.21 crimes per 1,000 people, according to the most recently available report from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. Sammamish had the lowest crime rate of the four cities at 11.2 crimes per 1,000 people.
To create the rankings, U.S. News & World Report used data from several U.S. agencies, including the Census Bureau, Department of Commerce, Federal Reserve and Bureau of Economic Analysis, as well as internal resources.
Four factors determined the rankings, and they were weighted based on a February 2026 survey where people voted on which index they said was most important in choosing where to live. The value index, which demonstrates affordability, was most important, accounting for 28% of the ranking. Quality of life, which embodies education, healthcare, environmental risk, economy and infrastructure, was next at 27%. Desirability, which includes crime, weather and commute time, made up 24%. The job market, determined by unemployment and household income, accounted for 21%.
