Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 13,191, founded in 1912.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Lake Forest Park grades A− overall, 33rd of 285 graded towns in Washington. On CDC health estimates it is near the top nationally. The median household earns $160K and its schools rank ahead of 90% of Washington towns. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $981K, 8.5 years of the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income. 66% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Lake Forest Park, above both Washington’s towns (30%) and U.S. towns (29%). Lake Forest Park is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 94% of U.S. towns. Harry Vanderbilt Wurdemann House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Lake Forest Park beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Lake Forest Park | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.2% | 9% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Forest Park Elementary | K–5 | 378 |
| Brookside Elementary | K–5 | 372 |
Where Lake Forest Park’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 Lake Forest Park is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,530 in 1970, 13,630 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 1902 and 4 maps from 1953 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lake Forest Park. Close and well known come first.
Big draw10 mi LookoutSpace Needle
Big draw10 mi Stadium & arenaClimate Pledge Arena
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaLumen Field
12 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile Park
8 mi Stadium & arenaHusky Stadium
11 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 Lake Forest Park, 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 Lake Forest Park.
Lake Forest Park has fewer 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and has less tooth loss than most of Washington, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Washington.
At 8.5 years of the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income, the typical home (about $981K) costs more against local pay than in 90% of Washington towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $8,290, against $4,556 across Washington, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Lake Forest Park’s median rent is $2,333 a month. The typical Lake Forest Park home is worth about $981,000, down 1.6% in a year, 67% above the Washington typical home. 81% of households own their home in Lake Forest Park.
| Lake Forest Park | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,333 a month | $1,737 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 81% | 70% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $981K.
Its public schools are run by the Shoreline School District. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Forest Park ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 378 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Washington is tooth loss: 5.2% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 9% statewide.
Lake Forest Park beats the Washington average on 23 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 12% of Lake Forest Park adults get no exercise outside work.
| Lake Forest Park | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 33% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 18% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 6.7% | 11% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 36% |
| What stands out | Lake Forest Park | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.2% | 9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5% | 8.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.3% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
3.7 miles of trail in 7 parks and preserves. The trail density in Lake Forest Park is 0.9 miles per square mile.
| Lake Forest Park | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.8% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Grace Cole Nature Park | 0.4 mi | 13 |
| 2. 5 Acre Wood | 0.3 mi | 6 |
| 3. Pfingst Animal Acres Park | 0.3 mi | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Lake Forest Park has 1,695 jobs for its 6,288 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. 32.4% of workers work from home, against 19.8% across Washington.
Most working residents leave Lake Forest Park for work: only 2% work in town. Jobs based in Lake Forest Park grew to 1,695 in 2023, 332 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Seattle (45%), Bellevue (6%) and Redmond (5%).
| Lake Forest Park | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 32% | 15% | 11% |
| Median household income | $160,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.5% | 5% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 76% of U.S. communities. Since 2007, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lake Forest Park.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Seattle Sand Pt Wsfo weather station, 5 miles away, records that about 2 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 95% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 74.8°, cooler than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 36°.
Lake Forest Park has mild winters and cool summers. About 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Lake Forest Park | 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
Reported crimes fell from 290 to 200 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Among 132 Washington towns, just 10 have a lower violent crime rate than Lake Forest Park. Within Washington, it does better than 67% of towns.
| Lake Forest Park | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14.8 per 1,000 residents | 15.1 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
22 within 15 miles of the center of Lake Forest Park
About 4 of every 100 Lake Forest Park residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
City in Washington, United States
Lake Forest Park is a suburban city in King County, Washington, United States, located northeast of Seattle. It was developed in the 20th century as a bedroom community with single-family housing on medium to large-sized lots. Less than 4% of the city's land is zoned commercial, largely concentrated in one location, and there are no industrial areas. The city is situated at the northwest end of Lake Washington along State Route 522, which provides connections to Seattle and Bothell. Lake Forest Park includes several parks and nature reserves, access to the Burke–Gilman Trail, and organized summer events. The population of the city was 13,630 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Lake Forest Park.
| Town | WA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Forest Park | #33 | A− | D | B− | A | A+ |
| Shoreline | #64 | B+ | D | C | A | A+ |
| Kenmore | #9 | A | D | B+ | A+ | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Lake Forest Park grades A− overall, better than 78% of U.S. towns and #33 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.
Within Washington, it does better than 67% of towns.
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.
