These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In Washington For 2018

Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment: is Washington a good place?

The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best places to live in Washington.

Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Evergreen State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been helping people find the best places to live in America for years.

So, the question becomes, if you wanted to relocate to the best pat of Washington, where would you go? To answer that we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 32 counties in the state.

After the analytic dust settled, we identified the 10 best counties to live in Evergreen State for 2018:

1. Island County (Photos)
2. Jefferson County (Photos)
3. Kitsap County (Photos)
4. Snohomish County (Photos)
5. Clark County (Photos)
6. King County (Photos)
7. Thurston County (Photos)
8. Benton County (Photos)
9. Lincoln County
10. Douglas County (Photos)

Island County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Washington. And you might want to avoid Yakima County if you can — at least according to the data.

So if you’re thinking of making the move Washington, we’ve got you covered. Keep on reading for a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in Washington and the best places to raise a family in Washington.

How do you determine which Washington county is the best?

To give you the best county in Washington, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we need to make some assumptions about what’s a ‘best county’ and what isn’t. And, for reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, don’t take this analysis to court.

With that in mind, we went to two of the best sources of data on the internet; the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent time period.

We paid particular attention to:

• Violent Crime Rates
• Property Crime Rates
• Median Home Values
• Median Income
• Unemployment Rates
• Adult Education Levels
• Health Insurance Coverage
• Poverty Rates

We then ranked each county in Washington across each of the criteria from one to 32, with one being the best.

Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the ‘Best County To Live In Washington’.

The result is some of the safest, quiet, and best counties to raise a family in the Evergreen State.

Read on to see why Island County is the best county, while Yakima County is probably in contention for being the worst county in Washington.

1. Island County

Biggest Place: Oak Harbor
Population: 80,113
Median Income: $60,261 (8th best)
Median Home Price: $295,800 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 7.7% (18th best)
More on Island County: Photos | Data

2. Jefferson County

Biggest Place: Port Townsend
Population: 30,333
Median Income: $50,928 (15th best)
Median Home Price: $291,200 (4th best)
Unemployment Rate: 7.2% (14th best)
More on Jefferson County: Photos | Data

3. Kitsap County

Biggest Place: Bremerton
Population: 257,488
Median Income: $65,017 (3rd best)
Median Home Price: $262,400 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 7.0% (12th best)
More on Kitsap County: Photos | Data

4. Snohomish County

Biggest Place: Everett
Population: 758,649
Median Income: $73,528 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $309,800 (2nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.2% (6th best)
More on Snohomish County: Photos | Data

5. Clark County

Biggest Place: Vancouver
Population: 450,893
Median Income: $62,879 (4th best)
Median Home Price: $249,400 (8th best)
Unemployment Rate: 7.2% (14th best)
More on Clark County: Photos | Data

6. King County

Biggest Place: Seattle
Population: 2,079,550
Median Income: $78,800 (1st best)
Median Home Price: $407,400 (1st best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.5% (4th best)
More on King County: Photos | Data

7. Thurston County

Biggest Place: Olympia
Population: 266,311
Median Income: $62,854 (5th best)
Median Home Price: $242,900 (11th best)
Unemployment Rate: 8.4% (24th best)
More on Thurston County: Photos | Data

8. Benton County

Biggest Place: Kennewick
Population: 187,519
Median Income: $61,147 (7th best)
Median Home Price: $188,300 (18th best)
Unemployment Rate: 6.5% (8th best)
More on Benton County: Photos | Data

9. Lincoln County

Biggest Place: Davenport
Population: 10,326
Median Income: $47,676 (22nd best)
Median Home Price: $145,300 (32nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.1% (1st best)
More on Lincoln County: Data

10. Douglas County

Biggest Place: East Wenatchee
Population: 40,101
Median Income: $53,758 (12th best)
Median Home Price: $214,900 (14th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.1% (2nd best)
More on Douglas County: Photos | Data

There You Have It – The Best Counties In Washington To Call Home For 2018

It turns out living in Washington can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?

But now you the know the really good parts and the parts to avoid and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day. And for that, you are welcome.

Here’s a look at the worst counties in Washington according to the data:

1. Yakima County
2. Grant County
3. Okanogan County

For more Washington reading, check out:

• 10 Worst Places To Live In Washington
• These Are The 10 Fastest Growing Cities In Washington
• 10 Most Dangerous Cities In Washington
• 10 Most Diverse Cities In Washington

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Washington

County	Rank	Population	Median Income	Median Home Price
Island County	1	80,113	$60,261	$295,800
Jefferson County	2	30,333	$50,928	$291,200
Kitsap County	3	257,488	$65,017	$262,400
Snohomish County	4	758,649	$73,528	$309,800
Clark County	5	450,893	$62,879	$249,400
King County	6	2,079,550	$78,800	$407,400
Thurston County	7	266,311	$62,854	$242,900
Benton County	8	187,519	$61,147	$188,300
Lincoln County	9	10,326	$47,676	$145,300
Douglas County	10	40,101	$53,758	$214,900
Whatcom County	11	209,729	$54,207	$283,000
Chelan County	12	74,761	$51,845	$246,100
Whitman County	13	47,494	$38,636	$188,100
Klickitat County	14	20,930	$49,633	$197,500
Kittitas County	15	42,785	$47,898	$246,300
Pierce County	16	832,896	$61,468	$239,400
Skagit County	17	120,475	$56,433	$255,100
Spokane County	18	485,859	$50,550	$186,500
Franklin County	19	87,810	$58,284	$169,700
Walla Walla County	20	59,809	$48,705	$191,700
Stevens County	21	43,744	$44,115	$174,800
Clallam County	22	72,969	$47,180	$220,200
Pacific County	23	20,743	$38,387	$159,200
Asotin County	24	22,113	$45,550	$177,600
Mason County	25	61,060	$51,764	$201,800
Cowlitz County	26	102,854	$49,127	$180,000
Adams County	27	19,100	$47,554	$146,400
Grays Harbor County	28	71,233	$44,521	$159,400
Lewis County	29	75,724	$44,526	$174,800
Okanogan County	30	41,299	$41,158	$165,300
Grant County	31	92,530	$50,145	$153,800
Yakima County	32	247,681	$45,700	$160,700