Living in a place you love can make a whole lot of difference, because the right city can mean shorter commutes, better schools, safer neighborhoods, lower costs, and a quality of life that makes every day a bit better.
I’ve lived in the wrong place before, and I felt it in ways that weren’t easy to describe. In some ways, you just feel it and it impacts your happiness and quality of life in a bad way.
Every year, the U.S. News & World Report sets a list of the best places to live in the U.S. This year, it evaluated the top 250 cities in the U.S. Washington placed four cities in the top 250. This list features the best cities to live in Washington, and in the United States in 2026.
How U.S. News Determines the Rankings
The study uses data from Applied Geographic Solutions, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Department of Commerce, the Federal Reserve, and other federal, state, and local sources to score cities across four indexes.
The weightings for each index were determined by a February 2026 public survey where Americans voted for what they valued most in a city.
The Value Index: The most heavily weighted at 28%, measures housing affordability relative to household income and overall cost of living.
The Quality of Life Index: Weighted at 27%, it covers education, healthcare, air quality, environmental risk, state economy, and infrastructure.
The Desirability Index: Weighted at 24%, it factors in crime rates, weather, culture and leisure activities, and commute times.
The Job Market Index: Weighted at 21%, it looks at unemployment rates and median household income.
Every city is scored on a 10-point scale across these categories, with the combined weighted score determining its overall rank.
Washington’s 4 Best Places to Live
Here’s a look at each of the four Washington cities that made the 2026 U.S. News Best Places to Live list, along with their national ranking.
#21 – Sammamish, WA
Overall Score: 6.8
Population: 65,430
Average Commute: 29 minutes
Median Home Value: $1,304,663
Median Monthly Rent: $2,452
Median Household Income: $247,657
Sammamish is the state’s top ranked city. As you can see, it is a relatively smaller population with high income. Many Sammamish residents commute to jobs in Bellevue or Seattle.
#75 – Redmond, WA
Overall Score: 6.4
Population: 82,525
Average Commute: 19 minutes
Median Home Value: $1,110,713
Median Monthly Rent: $2,203
Median Household Income: $168,278
Redmond comes in #75 in the nation for the best places to live. Another high-income community, it is a fast-growing suburb in the Seattle area.
#90 – Bellevue
Overall Score: 6.3
Population: 154,259
Average Commute: 20 minutes
Median Home Value: $1,304,230
Median Monthly Rent: $2,276
Median Household Income: $172,076
Bellevue checks in at #90 in the nation for the best city to live. It is probably the most recognizable name on the list, with tech giants such as Microsoft known to have its headquarters there.
#151 – Kirkland
Overall Score: 6.1
Population: 99,276
Average Commute: 21 minutes
Median Home Value: $1,068,154
Median Monthly Rent: $2,136
Median Household Income: $156,353
Lastly, we have Kirkland, which checks in with a population just under 100,000 people. It is famous for its stunning waterfront parks, and a vibrant and walkable downtown area.
Where Did Wenatchee Rank?
For what it’s worth, Wenatchee did not make the top 250 cities in the U.S. to live, however, it did make the top 10 in the state checking in at #9.