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%

Mill Creek$5,500/mo

Typical home $933K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.78% · or rent about $2,249/mo · Housing →

Bothell$5,870/mo

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

The difference: $370 a month, about $4,500 a year, between Bothell and Mill Creek.

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.

Report cards

Bothell places higher on 13 of 21 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

–Mill CreekNot graded BBothellSafer than 55% of U.S. towns

Schools

AMill CreekBetter than 87% of districts in the state A+BothellBetter than 95% of districts in the state

Health

A+Mill CreekHealthier than 95% of U.S. towns A+BothellHealthier than 99% of U.S. towns

6Mill Creek

13Bothell

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most new homesHousing · 154 towns #146#35 Fastest growingGrowth · 279 towns #113#19 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 284 towns #144#51 Shortest commuteGetting around · 284 towns #233#151 Highest graduation rateSchools · 254 towns #81#13 Most conserved landOutdoors · 275 towns #149#88 Lowest obesityHealth · 284 towns #58#19 Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 104 towns #33#47

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

Mill CreekBothell

Snow a year3″4″

January low32°F 37°F

July high74°F 77°F

Growing season (days)188d 259d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)51st 68th

Outdoors & history

Mill CreekBothell

Trails10 mi 26 mi

Conserved land3.4%6%

Settled1983 1870

National Register places—7

Famous people born here—15

Community

Mill CreekBothell

Library hours a week60 hrs 52 hrs

Colleges in town—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.

Where they are

6 miles apart

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

Mill CreekBothell

Mill Creek ↔ Bothell6.2 miles apart

Who commutes between them

469 Mill Creek residents work in Bothell (5% of its workers)

Work & commute in Mill Creek →

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

Mill CreekBothell

People

Population 20,956Lowest 49,610Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +14.7%Lowest WA: +14.6% +43.7%Highest WA: +14.6%

Median age 39.3±1.1Highest about the WA average 38.6±1Lowest about the WA average

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

Kids under 18 21.2%±2.6Lowest WA: 21.4% 23.5%±1.9Highest WA: 21.4%

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

Age 65+ 15%±2Highest WA: 16.6% 14.7%±1.2Lowest WA: 16.6%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 56%Lowest WA: 39.6% 59.8%Highest WA: 39.6%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 5.7%±1.9Highest WA: 5.7% 5.2%±0.7Lowest WA: 5.7%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $124,364±$11kLowest 27% above WA $140,427±$8kHighest 43% above WA

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $903,800±$24kLowest 60% above WA $925,100±$28kHighest 64% above WA

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $2,249±$88Lowest 28% above WA $2,346±$65Highest 33% above WA

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $7,026Lowest 54% above WA $7,312Highest 60% above WA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 48%±10.4Lowest WA: 49.9% 51.2%±5.3Highest WA: 49.9%

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

Below poverty line 6.4%Highest WA: 9.9% 4.8%Lowest WA: 9.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 59%Lowest WA: 63.8% 65.5%Highest WA: 63.8%

Typical home builtmedian year 1995Highest 10 yrs newer than WA 1992Lowest 7 yrs newer than WA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 33 minHighest 24% above WA 28 minLowest 4% above WA

Work from home 29.9%±3.5Lowest WA: 19.8% 32.9%±2.8Highest WA: 19.8%

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

Work in townworking residents 3.1%Lowest 8.9%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 15.3 miHighest 10.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.67Lowest 1.42Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Seattle (25%)Seattle (26%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others 5% work in BothellFew work in Mill Creek

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 3.4%Lowest 6%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 9.7 miLowest 25.7 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 2.1 miHighest 1.9 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 14Lowest 15Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 107Highest 97.0Lowest

Schools

School district Everett School DistrictNorthshore School District

High school in town Henry M. Jackson High SchoolBothell High School

Students per teacherat that high school 23.9Highest 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.

Mill Creek neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Mill Creek’s Town Square.

Bothell neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bothell’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Mill Creek and Bothell

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

Bordering Mill Creek

+ Compare

Martha Lake22,634 people · $785K homes

+ Compare

Mill Creek East25,453 people · $905K homes

+ Compare

Silver Firs22,306 people · $860K homes

Towns like Mill Creek

+ Compare

Kenmore23,741 people · $921K homes

+ Compare

Mukilteo21,323 people · $885K homes

+ Compare

Poulsbo12,165 people · $620K homes

+ Compare

Mountlake Terrace23,104 people · $667K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Washington towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

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.

Mill Creek vs Bothell

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they differ most

A typical home costs $370 more a month in Bothell

Bothell places higher on 13 of 21 WA lists

What daily life feels like in each

6 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Mill Creek and Bothell

Bordering Mill Creek

Towns like Mill Creek

Post to Mill Creek

Check your email