Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Bothell grades A− overall, 23rd of 285 graded towns in Washington. It is among the healthiest towns in the country on CDC estimates. Its schools outperform 95% of the state's and the median household earns $140K. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $979K for a typical one and 8.5 times the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income. 60% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Bothell, where Washington’s towns sit at 30% and U.S. towns at 29%. Bothell is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. Bothell is home to University of Washington-Bothell Campus.
Where Bothell beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Bothell | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.4% | 10.2% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Canyon Creek Elementary | PK–5 | 866 |
| Woodmoor Elementary | PK–5 | 643 |
| Shelton View Elementary | PK–5 | 513 |
33,505 counted in 2010 and 48,161 in 2020; an estimated 52,199 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 8.4% since 2020, after 43.7% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Bothell is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 599 in 1910, 48,161 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1902 and 5 maps from 1944 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bothell. Close and well known come first.
Big draw13 mi LookoutSpace Needle
Big draw13 mi Stadium & arenaClimate Pledge Arena
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaLumen Field
14 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile Park
10 mi Stadium & arenaHusky Stadium
13 mi Ancient siteSeattle UndergroundSpace Needle: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Climate Pledge Arena: Sea Cow, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lumen Field: "Smart Destinations", GoSeattleCard.com, and Go Seattle Card Blog, CC BY-SA 2.0 · T-Mobile Park: MyName (Cacophony), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Husky Stadium: Atomic Taco, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Seattle Underground: Mark Hursh, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bothell, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Bothell.
Bothell has schools in the top 5% of Washington, fares better on crime within Washington than nationally and has fewer 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns.
Former Wayne Golf Course, at 55 acres with 3.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Count the trails in 15 parks and preserves and they come to 25 miles. For Bothell, the density of trails is 1.9 miles per square mile.
| Bothell | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.9 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Former Wayne Golf Course | 3.8 mi | 55 |
| 2. Shelton View Forest | 1.6 mi | 26 |
| 3. East Norway Hill Park | 1.2 mi | 24 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
That grade ranks #14 of the 285 Washington towns we grade for schools. It comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $979K.
Two of the 27 schools are below, and why each made the list. The public schools here belong to the Northshore School District. The 6 public schools in Bothell teach 3,483 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skyview Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,215 | – |
| Bothell High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,740 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
At 8.5 years of the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income, the typical home (about $979K) costs more against local pay than in 90% of Washington towns; that ratio is one input to that grade. The typical value, about $979K, is 10% below its June 2022 peak.
Values fell 5.6% in the year to September 2026. The going rate for rent in Bothell is $2,346 a month. 26% of the homes sold in Bothell went for more than their asking price.
| Bothell | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,346 a month | $1,737 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 66% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its widest gap with Washington is food insecurity: 6.4% of its 37,573 adults worry about having enough food, against 10.2% statewide.
For adults in Bothell, the share who had a checkup this year is 71%. In Bothell, 9.7% of adults report frequent physical distress, and 6.9% smoke cigarettes.
| Bothell | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 6.9% | 11% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 18% | 25% |
| What stands out | Bothell | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.4% | 10.2% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 3.3% | 5.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Households in Bothell have drawn federal disaster aid in 11 declared disasters, most recently in 2025. On expected storm and flood damage, Bothell sits above just over two thirds of U.S. communities. This Washington town has had 6 paid flood insurance claims since 1978. 67% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from earthquakes, followed by inland flooding at 30%.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Seattle Sand Pt Wsfo weather station, 6 miles away, records that about 2 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 95% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 75.5°, cooler than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 36°.
About 4 inches of snow falls in a winter. The typical July afternoon high for Bothell comes to 76°F.
| Bothell | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 76°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 36°F | 35°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
32.9% of workers work from home, against 19.8% across Washington.
In Bothell, 4.8% of residents live below the poverty line. Just nearly a tenth of the town’s working residents have a job in town. Jobs based in Bothell grew to 32,491 in 2023, 5,900 more than in 2013. For half of commuters, work is under 10 miles away.
| Bothell | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 33% | 15% | 11% |
| Median household income | $140,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.8% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 17.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 74% of Washington’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 905 to 560 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Bothell’s rate of reported violence is 0.8 per 1,000 residents. In Bothell, the property offense rate is 9.8 per 1,000 residents.
| Bothell | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.8 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 9.8 per 1,000 residents | 15.1 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
20 within 15 miles of the center of Bothell
About 5 of every 100 Bothell residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Washington.
2 colleges in town.
7 places in Bothell on the National Register of Historic Places.
12 notable people were born in Bothell.
City in Washington, United States
Bothell () is a city in King and Snohomish counties in the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, situated near the northeast end of Lake Washington in the Eastside region. It had a population of 48,161 residents as of the 2020 census. The city lies along the Sammamish River, the historic home of the indigenous Sammamish people, and is adjacent to Kenmore and Woodinville. It was established in 1870 and platted by David Bothell and his family in 1888, shortly before the arrival of railroads in the area. The town was incorporated in 1909 and originally relied on logging and farming; in the mid-20th century, it became a bedroom community for workers commuting to…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Bothell.
| Town | WA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bothell | #23 | A− | D− | B− | A+ | A+ |
| Woodinville | #52 | B+ | D− | C | A+ | A+ |
| Bothell West | #13 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Bothell East | #5 | A | D− | — | A+ | A+ |
| Kenmore | #9 | A | D | B+ | A+ | A+ |
| Kirkland | #28 | A− | D− | B− | A+ | A+ |
| Maltby | #18 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
Bothell West, Bothell East and Maltby report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Bothell with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Bothell grades A− overall, better than 84% of U.S. towns and #23 of 285 in Washington. It grades A+ for health, B− for safety and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
12 notable people were born here, including Patty Murray and Chris Walla.
