Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 22,518.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Cottage Lake grades A overall, 19th of 285 graded towns in Washington. It is among the healthiest towns in the country on CDC estimates. Its public schools beat 95% of Washington towns on state tests and graduation and the median household earns $213K. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $1.2 million, 10.7 years of the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income. 68% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Cottage Lake, above both the Washington town median (30%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Among 285 Washington towns, just 5 have a higher middle household income than Cottage Lake. The biggest park or preserve is Woodinville Sports Club, at 62 acres.
Where Cottage Lake beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Cottage Lake | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4.1% | 9% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| East Ridge Elementary | PK–5 | 427 |
| Hollywood Hill Elementary | PK–5 | 331 |
| Sunrise Elementary | PK–5 | 322 |
Where Cottage Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Cottage Lake is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 24,330 in 2000, 22,857 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1909 and 3 maps from 1950 on.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cottage Lake. Close and well known come first.
Big draw15 mi LookoutSpace Needle
Big draw16 mi Stadium & arenaClimate Pledge Arena
Big draw16 mi Stadium & arenaLumen Field
16 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile Park
16 mi Ancient siteSeattle Underground
12 mi Stadium & arenaHusky StadiumSpace 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 · Seattle Underground: Mark Hursh, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Husky Stadium: Atomic Taco, CC BY-SA 2.0
Cottage Lake is unincorporated, so King County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Cottage Lake.
Cottage Lake has schools in the top 5% of Washington and has fewer 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Washington.
Its widest gap with Washington is tooth loss: 4.1% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 9% statewide.
The share of adults in Cottage Lake who sleep under 7 hours: 26%. On the CDC’s 31 measures, Cottage Lake is ahead of Washington on 24 and behind on 2. Only 10 of the 285 Washington towns we compare have a lower share of adults who worry about having enough food than Cottage Lake.
| Cottage Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 33% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 33% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 18% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 6.3% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Cottage Lake | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4.1% | 9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.3% | 10.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.2% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
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 $1.23M.
Two of its 10 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. The public schools here belong to the Northshore School District. Public school enrollment in Cottage Lake: 1,338 students across 4 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timbercrest Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 665 | – |
| Northshore NetworksLargest public high schoolGrades K–12 | Grades K–12 | – | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
Across 6 parks and preserves: 26 miles of trail. Cottage Lake’s trail density comes in at 1.2 miles per square mile.
| Cottage Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.2 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.9% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gold Creek Park | 1.4 mi | 35 |
| 2. Hollywood Hill Greenbelt | 0.6 mi | 10 |
| 3. Woodinville Sports Club | 0.5 mi | 62 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Cottage Lake has 3,131 jobs for its 10,439 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. Jobs based here grew from 1,980 in 2013 to 3,131.
2.3% of working residents work locally in Cottage Lake. The town had 3,131 jobs in 2023, up 1,151 from 2013. The top destinations are Seattle (23%), Redmond (21%) and Bellevue (11%).
| Cottage Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 34% | 15% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 3.2% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.3% | 5% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Seattle Sand Pt Wsfo weather station, 9 miles away, records that about 2 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 95% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 75°, cooler than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 35.6°.
In Cottage Lake, the July high is 75°F. About 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Cottage Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 75°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 36°F | 35°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected losses in Cottage Lake break down as 61% from earthquakes and 36% from inland flooding. Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1981, Cottage Lake has seen 9 flood insurance claims paid out.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 10.7 years of the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income, the typical home costs more against local pay than in 97% of Washington towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
Cottage Lake’s median rent stands at $2,740 a month. 91% of Cottage Lake households own their home. A home in Cottage Lake typically sold within 7 days of listing.
| Cottage Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,740 a month | $1,737 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 91% | 70% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
16 within 15 miles of the center of Cottage Lake
About 4 of every 100 Cottage Lake residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
Census-designated place in Washington, United States
Cottage Lake is a census-designated place (CDP) in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 22,857 at the 2020 census. The lake itself falls within the 98072 ZIP code, while the developments east of the lake fall under the 98077 ZIP code. The census designated area is also split between the Northshore school district and the Lake Washington school district. Based on per capita income, Cottage Lake ranks 13th of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked. Coldwell Banker ranked Cottage Lake #1 in 2013 for the fastest growing suburb in America.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Cottage Lake.
| Town | WA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cottage Lake | #19 | A | D | — | A+ | A+ |
| Woodinville | #52 | B+ | D− | C | A+ | A+ |
| Union Hill-Novelty Hill | #15 | A | D | — | A+ | A+ |
| Redmond | #49 | B+ | D− | C | A+ | A+ |
| Maltby | #18 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| High Bridge | #108 | B− | C− | — | B | A |
Cottage Lake, Union Hill-Novelty Hill, Maltby and High Bridge report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Cottage Lake with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Cottage Lake grades A overall, better than 86% of U.S. towns and #19 of 285 in Washington. It grades A+ for health and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $1,231,000, 109% above the Washington typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
