Bellevue, WA — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Washington·Bellevue

King County · Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue · population 154,377

Bellevue, WA
Image: Wikipedia · Bellevue, Washington
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
55
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Bellevue stands

Home values down 3.3% in the last year.

Median home $1,527,243
1-year -3.3%
5-yr CAGR +5.9%
vs 5-yr peak -5.8%
Population +0.4%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-06$1527k$648k$994k$1340k$1686k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
52/100
Somewhat walkable
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
30/100
Minimal transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
73/100
Strong remote-work fit
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$2,688/mo$1,982$2,438$2,893202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent133127100120140202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 47.3
Rent

At a 47.3 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in Bellevue for most shorter holds. The premium you pay to own would take many years of rent savings to recoup, and that's before maintenance, taxes, and opportunity cost on the down payment.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
33 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
69 · w22%
Distance from peak
58 · w18%
Population growth
53 · w16%
Rent YoY
47 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
82 · w10%
Long thesis

Bellevue has held up across the cycle: home values at $1,527,243 with +5.9% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Bellevue carries a $1,527,243 median home with only -3.3% YoY. Premium pricing in a flat tape is the bear setup — you're paying for the trend that already ran while new buyers can't afford to extend it.

About Bellevue

Bellevue is a city in King County, Washington, with an estimated population of 154,377. It anchors the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area. The median home value in Bellevue is $1,527,243 as of 2026-04, down 3.3% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +5.9% annual growth (-5.8% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Bellevue average $2,688 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+0.3%). The composite momentum score is 55 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Healthy 5-year run: +5.9% annualized over 5 years, outpacing US inflation.
○The data is the data: Bellevue has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 2-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

●Expensive AND not growing: median home $1,527,243 with only -3.3% YoY. You’re paying premium pricing for a flat trend.
●Cooling: -3.3% over the trailing year — momentum has stalled.

About Bellevue (Wikipedia)

Bellevue is a city in the Eastside region of King County, Washington, United States, located across Lake Washington from Seattle. It is the third-largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area, and the fifth-largest city in Washington. It has variously been characterized as a satellite city, a suburb, a boomburb, or an edge city. The population was 151,854 at the 2020 census. The city's name is derived from the French term belle vue.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

MayorMo Malakoutian
Area37.505 sq mi
Elevation341 ft
IncorporatedMarch 31, 1953
Density4530/sq mi

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for King County right now.

NWS active alerts (WA)Washington Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. King County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Neighborhoods of Bellevue

23 tracked · ranked by median home value
1West Lake Sammamish$2,718,945-2.6%
2Enatai$2,539,437-1.1%
3Northwest Bellevue$2,387,187-3.0%
4Meydenbauer$2,260,357-2.0%
5Cougar Mountain$2,018,727-5.5%
6Hidden Valley$2,003,851-1.8%
7Somerset$1,990,457-3.3%
8Newport Shores$1,627,394-0.8%
9Phantom Lake$1,614,442-3.9%
10Tam O'Shanter$1,611,822-5.1%
11Interlake$1,478,504-5.9%
12Vasa$1,409,965-3.8%
13Bridle Trails$1,391,448-3.5%
14Eastgate$1,388,031-1.1%
15Wilburton$1,380,162-1.0%
16Newport Hills$1,375,300+0.0%
17Robinswood$1,362,430-5.1%
18Lake Hills$1,329,569-4.7%
19WoodRidge$1,326,924-1.6%
20Overlake$1,244,416-3.0%
21Downtown$1,129,127-4.8%
22Crossroads$1,087,996-3.6%
23Factoria$521,495-6.0%

Cities like Bellevue

Kirkland, WA56 · StableMill Creek, WA57 · StableBothell, WA59 · StableKenmore, WA55 · Stable

Run the numbers for Bellevue

ToolCan I afford Bellevue?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Bellevue rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Bellevue to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolBellevue cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
45° / 35°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
77° / 56°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
152
~42% of year
Annual precip
38″ rain
10″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
Very low
Wildfire
High
Earthquake
Very high
Flood
Moderate

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Bellevue listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
75%
Very humid climate
Median household income
$90,400
Washington state median
Top industries (state-level)
Tech (Amazon/MS)Aerospace (Boeing)Agriculture

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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