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

All states·Washington·Kirkland

King County · Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue · population 95,499

Kirkland, WA
Image: Wikipedia · Kirkland, Washington
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
56
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Kirkland stands

Home values down 5.1% in the last year.

Median home $1,274,801
1-year -5.1%
5-yr CAGR +5.5%
vs 5-yr peak -6.8%
Population +0.9%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-06$1275k$535k$831k$1126k$1422k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
64/100
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
76/100
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
$2,575/mo$1,904$2,317$2,730202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent131127100120140202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 41.3
Rent

At a 41.3 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in Kirkland 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
25 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
67 · w22%
Distance from peak
55 · w18%
Population growth
63 · w16%
Rent YoY
61 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
83 · w10%
Long thesis

Kirkland has held up across the cycle: home values at $1,274,801 with +5.5% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Kirkland is down 5.1% over the last 12 months and the trend isn't flattening. Falling knife rule applies: you don't catch one with your hands, you wait for it to hit the floor and stop moving.

About Kirkland

Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, with an estimated population of 95,499. It anchors the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area. The population grew 0.9% annually from 2020 to 2024, a moderate gain. The median home value in Kirkland is $1,274,801 as of 2026-04, down 5.1% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +5.5% annual growth (-6.8% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Kirkland average $2,575 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+2.4%). The composite momentum score is 56 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●Healthy 5-year run: +5.5% annualized over 5 years, outpacing US inflation.
○The data is the data: Kirkland 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

●Prices actively falling: down 5.1% in the last 12 months — buyer sentiment has flipped. Sellers competing on price.
●Expensive AND not growing: median home $1,274,801 with only -5.1% YoY. You’re paying premium pricing for a flat trend.

About Kirkland (Wikipedia)

Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. A suburb east of Seattle, its population was 92,175 in the 2020 U.S. census which made it the sixth largest city in King County and the twelfth largest city in the state of Washington.

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

City facts

MayorKelli Curtis
Area22.66 sq mi
Elevation43 ft
Founded1888
Density5176.6/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 Kirkland

15 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Market-Downtown$3,046,741-3.3%
2Houghton$2,143,627-4.9%
3Bridle Trails$2,101,459-4.6%
4Norkirk$2,011,688-4.8%
5Lake View$1,794,384-6.9%
6Highlands$1,733,773-5.0%
7South Rose Hill$1,725,036-4.4%
8North Rose Hill$1,310,866-6.3%
9Finn Hill$1,279,471-5.8%
10Kingsgate$1,138,838-5.9%
11Moss Bay$1,112,083-6.7%
12Everest$1,068,957-4.5%
13North Juanita$1,010,985-3.1%
14South Juanita$880,457-2.9%
15Totem Lake$490,953-5.4%

Cities like Kirkland

Bothell, WA59 · StableSammamish, WA49 · StableKenmore, WA55 · StableBellevue, WA55 · Stable

Run the numbers for Kirkland

ToolCan I afford Kirkland?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Kirkland rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Kirkland to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolKirkland 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 Kirkland 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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