Living in Lake Stevens, WA
Suburb in Washington
Lake Stevens is a suburb in Washington, home to about 40,000 people, with 2.2 million living within 31 mi. Day to day, much of daily life is walkable. Life moves at a fast pace, and homes are mostly houses with yards.
Is Lake Stevens a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Great outdoors: hills or mountains nearby
- Mild summers: highs around 74°F
- Safe: violent crime is 0.3× the US rate (FBI 2019)
- Strong healthcare: 8 top-rated (4–5★) hospitals within 31 mi
👎 Cons
- Cloudier than most places
- Pricey housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $630k, and rent is $3,270 a month
- Fewer graduates: 34% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Lake Stevens ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Lake Stevens: common questions
What is the cost of living in Lake Stevens?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $630k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $3,270 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are above the US average (index 111, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Lake Stevens?
Washington collects about $70 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 0.81% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Lake Stevens safe?
Violent crime is well below the national rate (0.3× in FBI 2019 data).
How are the schools in Lake Stevens?
Public schools in Lake Stevens test above the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 20 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in Lake Stevens?
Lake Stevens has cool winters: winter days average around 48°F and summer days around 74°F, with roughly 3″ of snow a year.
Does Lake Stevens get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is moderate, mainly from earthquakes and flooding: 17 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 0.38 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Lake Stevens?
The nearest major airport is SEA, about 40 mi away.
How Lake Stevens scores
Each bar compares Lake Stevens with the other 1,990 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
Places like Lake Stevens
These places have the most similar overall profile across all 24 aspects.
The circle is each place's all-round score out of 100: the average of its 15 quality scores, from red (poor) to green (excellent).
Nearby
See all the best places to live in Washington.
Is Lake Stevens right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.