Photo: SounderBruce · CC BY-SA 4.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Bothell costs more to live in than 96% of U.S. towns
It ranks #266 of 285 in Washington for affordability. Down 5.6% in a year, 67% above the Washington typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area ($115K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Bothell’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($115K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 23% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 51% of renters.
In dollars
- $979Ktypical home, 67% above the Washington typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $2,850a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 111prices across the Seattle metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 151)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 8.0 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$115K, Seattle-area income
- 24%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 51%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Washington: 50%Census 2020–24
- 23%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
Housing in Bothell, in brief
Prices are 10% below their 2022 peak
The typical Bothell home peaked at $1.09M in June 2022 and is worth about $979K now. Across Washington, values are only slightly off their high. Over five years, Bothell is still up 15%. Price trend ↓
A burst of building in 2022
Bothell permitted 1,263 new homes in 2022, 76% of them in buildings with two or more homes, against about 321 in a typical year of the past decade. 2025 came in at 262. New homes ↓
A median income doesn’t stretch to the towns next door
At Bothell’s median income, the calculator’s budget of about $553K covers neither the typical home here ($979K) nor in any of the six neighboring towns. The least expensive is Bothell West at $825K. Can I afford it? ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for September 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Bothell’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Bothell is more affordable than 4% of U.S. towns, #266 of 285 in Washington. Home prices pull the grade down most; the share of households paying 30%+ for housing holds it up.
Prices here have kept pace with Washington: up 15.1% in five years, against 10.5% statewide (Zillow).
Down 5.6% in a year
Slower than Washington (-0.5%).
Show as a table
| January | Bothell | Washington |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $494,000 | $324,000 |
| 2018 | $576,000 | $359,000 |
| 2019 | $613,000 | $387,000 |
| 2020 | $621,000 | $410,000 |
| 2021 | $705,000 | $467,000 |
| 2022 | $918,000 | $549,000 |
| 2023 | $934,000 | $568,000 |
| 2024 | $968,000 | $577,000 |
| 2025 | $1,066,000 | $600,000 |
| 2026 | $1,041,000 | $597,000 |
| September 2026 | $979,000 | $588,000 |
A typical Bothell home worth $475K in October 2016 is worth about $979K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A balanced market
About 4.4 months of supply: neither buyers nor sellers have a clear edge.
Under ~4 months of supply favors sellers; over ~6 favors buyers.
Redfin Data Center, all residential sales, September 2026.
A typical home costs 8.0 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Bothell’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $525K short of a typical Bothell home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,850 a month here, $2,930 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Bothell’s typical property tax (0.79% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,850
Renters already here pay a median of $2,346, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Seattle-Bellevue, WA HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
262 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 262 new homes in Bothell in 2025: 119 single-family houses and 143 in buildings with two or more homes, worth about $82.1 million to build. That's 5.3 per 1,000 residents, about the pace of Washington as a whole. Over the past 10 years, Bothell has permitted 4,149 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Bothell gained 14,656 residents while 3,154 new homes were permitted: about 4.6 new residents per new home. Population grew faster than building, so existing homes filled up: a sign of tight supply. Across Washington: 2.7 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 67 | 67 | 0 | $31.1 million |
| 2025 | 262 | 119 | 143 | $82.1 million |
| 2024 | 206 | 206 | 0 | $99.6 million |
| 2023 | 179 | 179 | 0 | $69.8 million |
| 2022 | 1,263 | 309 | 954 | $254.3 million |
| 2021 | 268 | 214 | 54 | $102.1 million |
| 2020 | 194 | 172 | 22 | $70.1 million |
| 2019 | 167 | 167 | 0 | $48.4 million |
| 2018 | 482 | 282 | 200 | $151.7 million |
| 2017 | 519 | 161 | 358 | $105.9 million |
| 2016 | 609 | 149 | 460 | $114.7 million |
| 2015 | 310 | 111 | 199 | $76.9 million |
| 2014 | 151 | 104 | 47 | $46.6 million |
| 2013 | 351 | 152 | 199 | $79.9 million |
| 2012 | 331 | 70 | 261 | $57.9 million |
| 2011 | 110 | 105 | 5 | $37.4 million |
| 2010 | 124 | 124 | 0 | $42.8 million |
| 2009 | 70 | 64 | 6 | $19.4 million |
| 2008 | 98 | 92 | 6 | $26.8 million |
| 2007 | 189 | 184 | 5 | $42.2 million |
| 2006 | 322 | 322 | 0 | $80.6 million |
| 2005 | 183 | 138 | 45 | $41.8 million |
| 2004 | 178 | 42 | 136 | $26.4 million |
| 2003 | 211 | 121 | 90 | $35 million |
| 2002 | 119 | 79 | 40 | $24.4 million |
| 2001 | 68 | 64 | 4 | $16.3 million |
| 2000 | 244 | 42 | 202 | $26.3 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
High tax bills, but a low tax rate
The median bill is $7,312 (Washington: $4,556), because homes cost more. As a share of value it’s 0.79% a year, against 0.81% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Bothell
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area, or Washington. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 111 | WA 107 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 104 | WA 104 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 93 | WA 93 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 107 | WA 104 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Bothell vs. its neighbors
Of the 4 towns here with a Zillow value, Bothell has the 2nd-lowest. Bothell East and Maltby and Bothell West have no Zillow value, so they are in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bothell | D− | $979K | $925K | 0.79% | $2,850 |
| Woodinville | D− | $1.3M | $1.1M | 0.84% | $2,820 |
| Bothell West | D | — | $825K | 0.76% | $2,640 |
| Bothell East | D− | — | $1.1M | 0.79% | $2,890 |
| Kenmore | D | $963K | $921K | 0.90% | $2,480 |
| Kirkland | D− | $1.2M | $1.1M | 0.72% | $3,040 |
| Maltby | D | — | $1.0M | 0.83% | $2,920 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures.
Questions about the cost of living in Bothell
Is Bothell expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Bothell costs more than 96% of U.S. towns: a D− for cost of living, #266 of 285 in Washington. The typical home costs 8.0 years of the median household income of the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area ($115K).
How much does a house cost in Bothell?
About $979K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, down 5.6% in a year. The Washington typical home is $588K.
What salary do you need to live in Bothell?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $248,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $5,780 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $114,000.
How much is rent in Bothell?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $2,850 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $2,346 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Bothell?
The median bill is $7,312 a year, 0.79% of the median home value (Washington: $4,556, 0.81%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Bothell going up?
No: down 5.6% in the past year and 15.1% in five years, against 10.5% across Washington (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Bothell buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.