Seattle Neighborhood Guide: Northwest Seattle

Northwest Seattle includes iconic neighborhoods like Ballard, Fremont, Wallingford, Phinney Ridge, Greenwood, and more.

What’s it like to live in Northwest Seattle? This large area of Seattle includes many neighborhoods, each with its own unique vibe, amenities, and attractions. Ballard, Fremont, Wallingford, Phinney Ridge, Greenwood, Broadview, Blue Ridge, and Crown Hill are all major neighborhoods included in Northwest Seattle. This neighborhood has some fantastic transit options, including Rapid Ride bus lines, and bus lines that will take you straight to UW or Downtown. It’s also a great area for biking. Many people love the schools here, and a couple of schools are especially wonderful for their special education programs and positive environments for queer and trans youth. If you want to buy a house in this area, the median price for a single-family home in Northwest Seattle is $1.2 million.

In this comprehensive Northwest Seattle neighborhood guide, I’m sharing information about the many neighborhoods that make up this area. This includes topics like transit, schools, real estate, my very favorite places, and more!

Check Out Kim’s Video About the Neighborhood

Let’s dive into what makes this incredible area of Seattle so special!

Seattle Neighborhood Guide: Northwest Seattle

This is Kim Colaprete with Team Diva at Coldwell Banker Bain. Everyday, relocating clients contact us to get information about Seattle’s different neighborhoods. And I can see why. Did you know that there are over 100 micro-neighborhoods in Seattle? Plus, each one is totally different. In this guide, I will be sharing more about the many neighborhoods that make up Northwest Seattle and why this part of the city is so special. We’ll hit on transit, schools, real estate, and of course, my favorite—great local spots for chilling, dining, and drinking coffee.

Now it’s time to dive in!

Northwest Seattle Map

Northwest Seattle spans the area from Fremont to 145th and pretty much everything west of HWY 99 to the water. Is it a huge area with a ton to explore and enjoy.

Northwest Seattle Neighborhoods

Below, you’ll see a list of the numerous neighborhoods that encompass Northwest Seattle. And there are actually more than this! Click on each one for way more detailed information about each of these individual neighborhoods on our website:

Kim’s Favorite Things in Northwest Seattle

Ok, I love this part… Now I get to tell you about all the awesome places I love most in Northwest Seattle!

Parks

Northwest Seattle has three amazing parks, and they are all worth mentioning. The Ballard Locks are up there as one of Seattle’s most iconic sites. Beside watching the bevy of boats coming through this waterway, if you look closely, you may catch a glimpse of some jumping Chinook or Sockeye Salmon during the summer and early fall. Beside the Ballard Locks, there is also Golden Gardens and Carkeek Park. Both offer hiking trails and water views, and Golden Gardens has the perfect beach for summer volleyball games.

Favorite Restaurants

Picking a favorite place to chow down in Northwest Seattle is almost impossible since there are so many great restaurants. Here are two of my favorite places: First there is Delancey. Why? Cause when you have a picky teen in your life, you eat a lot of pizza, and Delancey is hands down one of the best pizza joints I’ve been to. Next is Ray’s Boathouse, another Seattle icon. Watching the sun set over Shilshole bay while enjoying some stellar seafood is so quintessentially Seattle.

Best Coffee

Once again, it is super tough to pick just one great coffee shop in the bastion of incredible coffee places that is Northwest Seattle. So I’m picking two, again. First is Venture Coffee, a Danish-inspired coffee company on 24th in Ballard. Their cortados are some of the best in the city. Next would be, of course, Diva Espresso in Greenwood. This place has been my go-to NW coffee stop for decades.

Shop Local

For fresh produce, bread, cheese, locally made products, and more, there is no place like the Ballard Farmers Market. And it’s open year round, rain or shine!

Transit

Living in NW Seattle means you have a direct shot south into Downtown Seattle or east to the UW to connect with the Link light rail. The Rapid Ride D line is your way to go; it runs all the way from Crown Hill along 15th Ave NW and into Downtown. If you want to get across town, hop on the #45 bus and go east across town into the U-District. NW Seattle also makes a great location for bike commuting since it’s relatively flat and has great biking infrastructure.

Schools

In general, Seattle is a district full of passionate, committed teachers, and engaged families. Most schools in Northwest Seattle received high ratings from the “Great Schools” website. That said, since these ratings are purely based on test scores, we always suggest folks do a deeper dive into the specific schools they are considering.

There are a couple of noteworthy schools worth mentioning. Ballard High School is known for its exceptional special education programs. Salmon Bay Elementary is known for being one of the most accepting schools for queer and trans youth. So much so, that we have clients moving to the area specifically for this school.

Real Estate

NW Seattle spans so many diverse locations that you can find almost any type of housing style possible. While Ballard, Greenwood, and Fremont have a higher number of townhomes and condos than other areas, Crown Hill and Broadview have more mid-century homes and modern new construction single family homes. Personally, I love the Blue Ridge neighborhood since it not only has some of the most unique mid-century homes in the city, but here you can find some of the most striking Puget Sound and mountain views.

So what will you pay on average for a home in Seattle’s Northwest Neighborhoods? Let’s find out:

The median price for a single-family home in Northwest Seattle = $1.2 million
The median price for a townhome in Northwest Seattle = $935,000
The median price for a condo in Northwest Seattle = $485,000

Numbers are from Fall 2022. For more detailed numbers check out our neighborhood pages. Here you can dial down to a more specific idea of housing cost for each different neighborhood.

Thank You For Checking Out Our Seattle Neighborhood Guide for Northwest Seattle!

What’s it like to live in Northwest Seattle? Many neighborhoods are included in this diverse area of Seattle, including Ballard, Fremont, Wallingford, Phinney Ridge, Greenwood, Broadview, Blue Ridge, and Crown Hill. One of the best things about this area is its transit options; it’s easy to take a bus straight to University of Washington, or right into Downtown Seattle. There are Rapid Ride bus lines as well, and it’s a great area for biking. You’ll also find excellent schools here, and a couple of schools, in particular, are especially great for their special education programs and positive environments for queer and trans youth. And, to buy a single-family home in Northwest Seattle, it will cost around $1.2 million.

I’m Kim Colaprete with Team Diva at Coldwell Banker Bain, and thank you so much for exploring NW Seattle with me!

Explore other Seattle neighborhoods here:

We are here to help. Our team understands that the process of buying and/or selling a home can take a year or two. And we are more than willing to give you a personalized plan to get the ball rolling. Feel free to contact us directly at thediva@teamedivarealestate.com or call/text 206-271-0264.