A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Bothell$5,870/mo

Typical home $995K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.79% · or rent about $2,346/mo · Housing →

Kirkland$6,880/mo

Typical home $1.18M (Zillow) · tax rate 0.72% · or rent about $2,401/mo · Housing →

The difference: $1,010 a month, about $12,100 a year, between Kirkland and Bothell.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Where they are

Bothell and Kirkland share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

BothellKirkland

Bothell ↔ Kirkland5.3 miles apart · They share a border

Who commutes between them

1,538 Bothell residents work in Kirkland (6.7% of its workers)

1,195 Kirkland residents work in Bothell (2.6% of its workers)

Work & commute in Bothell →

Report cards

Kirkland places higher on 15 of 22 WA lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Washington ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

BBothellSafer than 55% of U.S. towns B−KirklandSafer than 47% of U.S. towns

Schools

A+BothellBetter than 95% of districts in the state A+KirklandBetter than 98% of districts in the state

Health

A+BothellHealthier than 99% of U.S. towns A+KirklandHealthier than 99% of U.S. towns

5Bothell

15Kirkland

Lists won, of 22 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 104 towns #47#18 Most new homesHousing · 154 towns #35#69 Shortest commuteGetting around · 284 towns #151#94 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 284 towns #51#15 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 284 towns #44#10 Most walkableOutdoors · 284 towns #57#29 SafestSafety · 124 towns #31#41 Most affordableCost of living · 277 towns #253#266

Left end = #1 in Washington. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Bothell’s rankings →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

BothellKirkland

Snow a year4″4″

January low37°F 37°F

July high77°F 77°F

Growing season (days)259d 259d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)68th 72nd

Outdoors & history

BothellKirkland

Trails26 mi 45 mi

Conserved land6%6.9%

Settled1870 1888

National Register places7 8

Archive photos—9

Famous people born here15 36

Community

BothellKirkland

Library hours a week52 hrs 52 hrs

Colleges in town2 3

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Washington average

BothellKirkland

People

Population 49,610Lowest 92,621Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +43.7%Lowest WA: +14.6% +88.9%Highest WA: +14.6%

Median age 38.6±1Highest about the WA average 38.3±0.7Lowest about the WA average

Bothell and Kirkland are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 23.5%±1.9Highest WA: 21.4% 19.3%±1Lowest WA: 21.4%

Age 65+ 14.7%±1.2Highest WA: 16.6% 14.2%±0.9Lowest WA: 16.6%

Bothell and Kirkland are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 59.8%Lowest WA: 39.6% 66.3%Highest WA: 39.6%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.2%±0.7Lowest WA: 5.7% 6.2%±0.6Highest WA: 5.7%

Kirkland and Bothell are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $140,427±$8kLowest 43% above WA $150,414±$6kHighest 53% above WA

Kirkland and Bothell are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $925,100±$28kLowest 64% above WA $1,115,400±$26kHighest 98% above WA

Rentmedian gross, monthly $2,346±$65Lowest 33% above WA $2,401±$54Highest 36% above WA

Kirkland and Bothell are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $7,312Lowest 60% above WA $8,001Highest 76% above WA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 51.2%±5.3Highest WA: 49.9% 43.7%±3.8Lowest WA: 49.9%

Bothell and Kirkland are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 4.8%Lowest WA: 9.9% 6.1%Highest WA: 9.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 65.5%Highest WA: 63.8% 60.8%Lowest WA: 63.8%

Typical home builtmedian year 1992Highest 7 yrs newer than WA 1984Lowest 1 yr older than WA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 28 minHighest 4% above WA 24 minLowest 10% below WA

Work from home 32.9%±2.8Lowest WA: 19.8% 33.9%±1.9Highest WA: 19.8%

Kirkland and Bothell are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 8.9%Lowest 11.4%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 10.3 miHighest 7.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.42Highest 1.09Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Seattle (26%)Seattle (30%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others 7% work in Kirkland3% work in Bothell

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 6%Lowest 6.9%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 25.7 miLowest 44.5 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.9 miLowest 2.0 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 15Lowest 54Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 97.0Lowest 111Highest

Schools

School district Northshore School DistrictLake Washington Institute of Technology · Lake Washington School District

High school in town Bothell High SchoolLake Washington High School

Students per teacherat that high school 20.1Lowest 21.0Highest

Washington average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Bothell neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bothell’s Town Square.

Kirkland neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Kirkland’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Bothell and Kirkland

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Bothell

+ Compare

Woodinville13,438 people · $1.1M homes

+ Compare

Bothell West22,029 people · $825K homes

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Bothell East14,578 people · $1.13M homes

+ Compare

Kenmore23,741 people · $921K homes

Towns like Bothell

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Shoreline61,431 people · $811K homes

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Issaquah39,591 people · $963K homes

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Mill Creek20,956 people · $904K homes

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Mukilteo21,323 people · $885K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Bothell vs Kirkland

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $1,010 more a month in Kirkland

Bothell and Kirkland share a border

Kirkland places higher on 15 of 22 WA lists

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Bothell and Kirkland

Bordering Bothell

Towns like Bothell

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