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%

Kirkland$6,880/mo

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

Bothell$5,870/mo

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

Kirkland and Bothell share a border

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

KirklandBothell

Kirkland ↔ Bothell5.3 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

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

Schools

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

Health

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

15Kirkland

5Bothell

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

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

Left end = #1 in Washington. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Kirkland’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

KirklandBothell

Snow a year4″4″

January low37°F 37°F

July high77°F 77°F

Growing season (days)259d 259d

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

Outdoors & history

KirklandBothell

Trails45 mi 26 mi

Conserved land6.9%6%

Settled1888 1870

National Register places8 7

Archive photos9 —

Famous people born here36 15

Community

KirklandBothell

Library hours a week52 hrs 52 hrs

Colleges in town3 2

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

KirklandBothell

People

Population 92,621Highest 49,610Lowest

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

Median age 38.3±0.7Lowest about the WA average 38.6±1Highest 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 19.3%±1Lowest WA: 21.4% 23.5%±1.9Highest WA: 21.4%

Age 65+ 14.2%±0.9Lowest WA: 16.6% 14.7%±1.2Highest 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+ 66.3%Highest WA: 39.6% 59.8%Lowest WA: 39.6%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 6.2%±0.6Highest WA: 5.7% 5.2%±0.7Lowest 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 $150,414±$6kHighest 53% above WA $140,427±$8kLowest 43% 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 $1,115,400±$26kHighest 98% above WA $925,100±$28kLowest 64% above WA

Rentmedian gross, monthly $2,401±$54Highest 36% above WA $2,346±$65Lowest 33% 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 $8,001Highest 76% above WA $7,312Lowest 60% above WA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 43.7%±3.8Lowest WA: 49.9% 51.2%±5.3Highest 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 6.1%Highest WA: 9.9% 4.8%Lowest WA: 9.9%

Housing

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

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

Getting to work

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

Work from home 33.9%±1.9Highest WA: 19.8% 32.9%±2.8Lowest 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 11.4%Highest 8.9%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 7.3 miLowest 10.3 miHighest

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

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

Between these townsresidents who work in the others 3% work in Bothell7% work in Kirkland

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 6.9%Highest 6%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 44.5 miHighest 25.7 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 2.0 miHighest 1.9 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 54Highest 15Lowest

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

Schools

School district Lake Washington Institute of Technology · Lake Washington School DistrictNorthshore School District

High school in town Lake Washington High SchoolBothell High School

Students per teacherat that high school 21.0Highest 20.1Lowest

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.

Kirkland neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Kirkland’s Town Square.

Bothell neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bothell’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Kirkland and Bothell

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

Bordering Kirkland

+ Compare

Kenmore23,741 people · $921K homes

+ Compare

Seattle754,195 people · $939K homes

+ Compare

Yarrow Point1,198 people · $2M homes

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Redmond77,353 people · $1.17M homes

Towns like Kirkland

+ Compare

Bellevue151,847 people · $1.34M homes

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Issaquah39,591 people · $963K homes

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Shoreline61,431 people · $811K homes

+ Compare

Olympia55,951 people · $486K 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.

Kirkland vs Bothell

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

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

Kirkland and Bothell 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 Kirkland and Bothell

Bordering Kirkland

Towns like Kirkland

Post to Kirkland

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