While big cities like Tacoma offer culture, cuisine, and charisma, they also deliver terrible traffic, towering expenses, and a taxing quality of life.
With that in mind, we wanted to uncover the best suburbs around Tacoma. These burbs have all of the benefits of being near Tacoma without actually having to be in the city.
Of course, not all suburbs of Tacoma are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. Using Saturday Night Science, we delve into the factors that matter most, from commutes and housing costs to community vibes, to help you uncover the perfect suburban spots in the Greater Tacoma area.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 best suburbs to live around Tacoma for 2024:
What’s the best suburb of Tacoma? Mercer Island ranks as the best suburb of Tacoma for 2024 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Mercer Island, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Tacoma ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.
Feel free to check out some more reading about Washington:
The 10 Best Tacoma Suburbs To Live For 2024
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Population: 25,464
Median Income: $190,985
Unemployment Rate: 2.6%
Poverty Rate: 5.3%
More on Mercer Island: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Mercer Island is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Tacoma area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Mercer Island.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $190,985 a year, which is the 3rd highest in the Tacoma region. And only 2.57% are out of work. Homes average more than $2,093,811 each.
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Clyde Hill is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Tacoma for 2024.
It ranks 1st for incomes in the area and only 0.42% of residents lack insurance, good for best.
3. Medina, WA
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Population: 2,923
Median Income: $244,740
Unemployment Rate: 2.2%
Poverty Rate: 2.7%
More on Medina: Crime | Real Estate
Here in Medina, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Tacoma metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Medina.
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Population: 39,400
Median Income: $143,006
Unemployment Rate: 3.2%
Poverty Rate: 6.7%
More on Issaquah: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Issaquah ranks as the 4th best suburb of Tacoma for 2024.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Issaquah and the schools are some of the best around.
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Population: 24,681
Median Income: $151,290
Unemployment Rate: 2.9%
Poverty Rate: 2.9%
More on Bainbridge Island: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Coming in as the fifth best is Bainbridge Island.
Bainbridge Island gets kudos for having the 6th most expensive homes in the Tacoma area, where houses sell for an average of $1,164,814. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
Just moved to Bainbridge Island last year and we think it’s fabulous! Weak reasons for BI to appear on this list! And I’ll take 35 minute ferry ride any day instead of sitting in my car in traffic!
That 35 minutes; read the paper, check emails, and a fabulous Happy Hour on the ride home! Are you kidding me!!! Who made up this list- BTW, there’s plenty to do on the island! Hiking, kayaking, horseback riding, shopping, boating, golf, tennis, should I go on-
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Population: 27,889
Median Income: $137,595
Unemployment Rate: 4.9%
Poverty Rate: 4.8%
More on Maple Valley: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Maple Valley is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 4.93%.
According to online reports, Maple Valley is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Tacoma area, meaning you need to get in soon.
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The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Black Diamond.
Black Diamond schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 21.2 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
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Population: 150,606
Median Income: $149,551
Unemployment Rate: 4.0%
Poverty Rate: 7.2%
More on Bellevue: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Bellevue is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 4.3% of people lack insurance, good for 18th in the area.
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Population: 12,931
Median Income: $151,007
Unemployment Rate: 4.9%
Poverty Rate: 3.4%
More on Newcastle: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Is ‘Everything Better In Newcastle?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
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Population: 6,697
Median Income: $122,467
Unemployment Rate: 3.8%
Poverty Rate: 6.8%
More on Normandy Park: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
And rounding out the top ten for 2024 is Normandy Park.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Tacoma for 2024
Figuring out the best suburbs around Tacoma was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2018-2022 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Tacoma.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 45 suburbs to evaluate around Tacoma.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 45 in each category, where 1 was the “best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Tacoma.” We’re lookin’ at you, Mercer Island.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best Tacoma suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Tacoma ‘Burbs of 2024
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
The best suburbs of Tacoma are .
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Tacoma but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.
For more Washington reading, check out:
Table: Best Tacoma Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercer Island, WA | 25,464 | $190,985 | $2,093,811 |
| 2 | Clyde Hill, WA | 3,108 | $250,001 | $3,898,869 |
| 3 | Medina, WA | 2,923 | $244,740 | $4,292,352 |
| 4 | Issaquah, WA | 39,400 | $143,006 | $1,042,395 |
| 5 | Bainbridge Island, WA | 24,681 | $151,290 | $1,164,814 |
| 6 | Maple Valley, WA | 27,889 | $137,595 | $750,316 |
| 7 | Black Diamond, WA | 5,314 | $134,076 | $730,492 |
| 8 | Bellevue, WA | 150,606 | $149,551 | $1,314,283 |
| 9 | Newcastle, WA | 12,931 | $151,007 | $1,200,663 |
| 10 | Normandy Park, WA | 6,697 | $122,467 | $960,307 |
| 11 | Bonney Lake, WA | 22,590 | $123,462 | $637,988 |
| 12 | Edgewood, WA | 12,397 | $115,325 | $673,664 |
| 13 | Covington, WA | 20,814 | $123,065 | $614,981 |
| 14 | Gig Harbor, WA | 11,917 | $103,688 | $758,110 |
| 15 | Seattle, WA | 734,603 | $116,068 | $827,235 |
| 16 | Buckley, WA | 5,191 | $120,707 | $594,115 |
| 17 | Steilacoom, WA | 6,680 | $94,708 | $592,049 |
| 18 | University Place, WA | 34,696 | $89,658 | $621,099 |
| 19 | Dupont, WA | 9,955 | $106,695 | $564,984 |
| 20 | Enumclaw, WA | 12,630 | $110,789 | $605,326 |
| 21 | Fircrest, WA | 7,098 | $99,032 | $587,271 |
| 22 | Orting, WA | 8,898 | $114,458 | $531,870 |
| 23 | Renton, WA | 105,355 | $92,292 | $700,607 |
| 24 | Pacific, WA | 7,097 | $98,148 | $521,184 |
| 25 | Eatonville, WA | 2,845 | $104,583 | $551,628 |
| 26 | Puyallup, WA | 42,610 | $90,592 | $540,014 |
| 27 | Yelm, WA | 10,438 | $88,818 | $449,840 |
| 28 | Burien, WA | 51,505 | $84,583 | $605,886 |
| 29 | Milton, WA | 8,543 | $90,372 | $535,284 |
| 30 | Auburn, WA | 85,623 | $87,406 | $570,116 |
| 31 | Tumwater, WA | 25,617 | $84,177 | $479,190 |
| 32 | Sumner, WA | 10,589 | $83,285 | $540,052 |
| 33 | Federal Way, WA | 99,614 | $80,360 | $558,348 |
| 34 | Kent, WA | 135,169 | $86,966 | $603,965 |
| 35 | Lacey, WA | 56,263 | $79,874 | $469,149 |
| 36 | Port Orchard, WA | 15,820 | $82,650 | $506,119 |
| 37 | Olympia, WA | 55,151 | $73,851 | $506,104 |
| 38 | Des Moines, WA | 32,667 | $81,362 | $564,875 |
| 39 | Fife, WA | 10,887 | $84,538 | $530,444 |
| 40 | Lakewood, WA | 63,142 | $65,531 | $476,344 |
| 41 | Rainier, WA | 2,707 | $89,659 | $466,166 |
| 42 | Seatac, WA | 30,927 | $79,433 | $538,091 |
| 43 | Bremerton, WA | 43,983 | $68,556 | $451,154 |
| 44 | Algona, WA | 3,264 | $81,474 | $490,301 |
| 45 | Tukwila, WA | 21,569 | $76,331 | $535,251 |
