Mercer Island, WA — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·Washington·Mercer Island

King County · Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue · population 25,302

OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
52
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Mercer Island stands

Steady, no major recent move.

Median home $2,341,751
1-year -1.9%
5-yr CAGR +4.9%
vs 5-yr peak -7.2%
Population -0.4%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2022-06$2342k$1107k$1613k$2119k$2625k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
32/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
15/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
61/100
Workable for remote workers
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
$2,613/mo$1,883$2,342$2,801202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent127130100120140202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 74.7
Rent

At a 74.7 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in Mercer Island 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
40 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
65 · w22%
Distance from peak
53 · w18%
Population growth
38 · w16%
Rent YoY
45 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
74 · w10%
Long thesis

Mercer Island has held up across the cycle: home values at $2,341,751 with +4.9% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Mercer Island carries a $2,341,751 median home with only -1.9% 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 Mercer Island

Mercer Island is a city in King County, Washington, with an estimated population of 25,302. It anchors the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area. The median home value in Mercer Island is $2,341,751 as of 2026-04, down 1.9% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +4.9% annual growth (-7.2% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Mercer Island average $2,613 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+0.0%). The composite momentum score is 52 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

○The data is the data: Mercer Island has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 1-criteria momentum score on this page.

▼ Bear case

●Expensive AND not growing: median home $2,341,751 with only -1.9% YoY. You’re paying premium pricing for a flat trend.
●Flat or shrinking population: -0.4% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — verify the source.

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.

Cities like Mercer Island

Issaquah, WA53 · StableMukilteo, WA59 · StableEdmonds, WA59 · StableSnoqualmie, WA56 · Stable

Run the numbers for Mercer Island

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