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%

Shoreline$4,690/mo

Typical home $786K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.87% · or rent about $1,985/mo · Housing →

Bothell$5,870/mo

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

The difference: $1,180 a month, about $14,200 a year, between Bothell and Shoreline.

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 11 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

CShorelineSafer than 31% of U.S. towns BBothellSafer than 55% of U.S. towns

Schools

A+ShorelineBetter than 95% of districts in the state A+BothellBetter than 95% of districts in the state

Health

A+ShorelineHealthier than 98% of U.S. towns A+BothellHealthier than 99% of U.S. towns

8Shoreline

11Bothell

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

Fastest growingGrowth · 279 towns #156#19 Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 104 towns #75#47 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 284 towns #124#51 SafestSafety · 124 towns #61#31 Cheapest rentCost of living · 274 towns #194#241 Highest graduation rateSchools · 254 towns #56#13 Highest incomeIncome · 284 towns #96#50 Most walkableOutdoors · 284 towns #26#57

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

ShorelineBothell

Snow a year4″4″

January low37°F 37°F

July high77°F 77°F

Growing season (days)259d 259d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)76th 68th

Outdoors & history

ShorelineBothell

Trails24 mi 26 mi

Conserved land5%6%

Settled1995 1870

National Register places2 7

Archive photos2 —

Famous people born here4 15

Community

ShorelineBothell

Library hours a week52 hrs 52 hrs

Colleges in town1 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

7 miles apart

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

ShorelineBothell

Shoreline ↔ Bothell6.6 miles apart

Who commutes between them

630 Shoreline residents work in Bothell (2.3% of its workers)

Work & commute in Shoreline →

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

ShorelineBothell

People

Population 61,431Highest 49,610Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +10.6%Lowest WA: +14.6% +43.7%Highest WA: +14.6%

Median age 42.9±1.5Highest 12% above WA 38.6±1Lowest about the WA average

Kids under 18 18.8%±1.3Lowest WA: 21.4% 23.5%±1.9Highest WA: 21.4%

Age 65+ 19.7%±1.4Highest WA: 16.6% 14.7%±1.2Lowest WA: 16.6%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 52.8%Lowest WA: 39.6% 59.8%Highest WA: 39.6%

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

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $112,751±$8kLowest 15% above WA $140,427±$8kHighest 43% above WA

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $811,100±$19kLowest 44% above WA $925,100±$28kHighest 64% above WA

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,985±$75Lowest 13% above WA $2,346±$65Highest 33% above WA

Property taxmedian, yearly $7,083Lowest 55% above WA $7,312Highest 60% above WA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 55.7%±5.5Highest WA: 49.9% 51.2%±5.3Lowest WA: 49.9%

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

Below poverty line 8.8%Highest WA: 9.9% 4.8%Lowest WA: 9.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 66.3%Highest WA: 63.8% 65.5%Lowest WA: 63.8%

Typical home builtmedian year 1969Lowest 16 yrs older than WA 1992Highest 7 yrs newer than WA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 27 minLowest about the WA average 28 minHighest 4% above WA

Work from home 25.6%±2.4Lowest WA: 19.8% 32.9%±2.8Highest WA: 19.8%

Work in townworking residents 7%Lowest 8.9%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 9.8 miLowest 10.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.58Lowest 1.42Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Seattle (47%)Seattle (26%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others 2% work in BothellFew work in Shoreline

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 5%Lowest 6%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 24.1 miLowest 25.7 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 2.0 miHighest 1.9 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 32Highest 15Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 113Highest 97.0Lowest

Schools

School district Shoreline School DistrictNorthshore School District

High school in town Shorecrest High SchoolBothell High School

Students per teacherat that high school 25.5Highest 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.

Shoreline neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Shoreline’s Town Square.

Bothell neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bothell’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Shoreline and Bothell

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

Bordering Shoreline

+ Compare

Lake Forest Park13,335 people · $953K homes

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Edmonds42,735 people · $890K homes

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Seattle754,195 people · $939K homes

Towns like Shoreline

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Richland62,753 people · $437K homes

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University Place34,911 people · $625K homes

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Camas27,007 people · $712K homes

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Kirkland92,621 people · $1.12M 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.

Shoreline vs Bothell

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $1,180 more a month in Bothell

Bothell places higher on 11 of 22 WA lists

What daily life feels like in each

7 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Shoreline and Bothell

Bordering Shoreline

Towns like Shoreline

Post to Shoreline

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