Montlake

Seattle's Capitol Hill district, about 2.57 miles from downtown, in King County.

Researched and written by Ryan Rose · Updated October 29, 2026

On lots averaging 4,881 sq ft, Montlake's homes average 2,446 sq ft, larger than 90% of Seattle neighborhoods. In my parcel records the median year built is 1924, older than 95% of Seattle neighborhoods, and 93.9% of the 2,092 homes are single-family. I also found East Montlake Park and Foster Island among the parks inside its borders. Sidewalk coverage is estimated at 68.9%, lower than 60% of Seattle neighborhoods.

Illustration of a residential street of detached single-family houses, built mostly in the 1920s.
Illustration
Downtown Montlake 2 mi N ↑
I marked Montlake on a map of Seattle drawn from the neighborhood boundaries the city publishes. Downtown is marked for reference.

At a glance

Area
489 acres
Homes
2,092
Median year built
1924 Older than 95% of Seattle neighborhoods
Average home size
2,446 sq ft Larger than 90% of Seattle neighborhoods
Average lot size
4,881 sq ft Smaller than 65% of Seattle neighborhoods
Streets steeper than 8%
12.9% of street length Elevation 20–373 ft
In FEMA's 100-year flood zone
None
Within 500 ft of a freeway
12.2% of residential lots
New homes permitted
21 Fewer than 90% of Seattle neighborhoods Since January 2023

Share of residential lots: 93.9% single-family, 2.4% townhouse, 1.0% condominium, 1.7% duplex to fourplex, 0.8% apartment

I compared each figure with the 82 other Seattle neighborhoods I have researched that have at least 100 residential parcels.

Getting around on foot

Intersections per sq mile
170
Average block length
357 ft Shorter than 65% of Seattle neighborhoods
Sidewalk coverage
68.9% (my estimate) Lower than 60% of Seattle neighborhoods
Transit stops within ¼ mile
40 Fewer than 85% of Seattle neighborhoods
Everyday categories within ½ mile
7 Fewer than 80% of Seattle neighborhoods

I compared each figure with the 82 other Seattle neighborhoods I have researched that have at least 100 residential parcels.

Parks and recreation

East Montlake Park, Foster Island (wash. Park), Grand Army Cemetery, Harvard-miller/roanoke Annex, Interlaken Park, Montlake Boulevard, Montlake Playfield, West Montlake Park

Schools in and near this neighborhood

  • BERTSCHI SCHOOL
  • Montlake Elementary School K–5 Seattle School District No. 1
  • Tops K-8 School PK–8 Seattle School District No. 1
  • SEATTLE HEBREW ACADEMY
  • SEATTLE AMISTAD SCHOOL
  • Stevens Elementary School K–5 Seattle School District No. 1
  • FUSION ACADEMY SEATTLE
  • HOLY NAMES ACADEMY

Food, drink and daily errands

Restaurants
4
Cafes
3
Bars and pubs
1
Grocery
0
Pharmacies
0

Restaurants and coffee I found nearby

  • Oxbow Cafe · Inside the neighborhood
  • Café Lago Italian · Inside the neighborhood Patio
  • Fuel Coffee · Inside the neighborhood
  • Pagliacci Pizza Pizza · Inside the neighborhood
  • Copper Tree Coffee House Cafe · Inside the neighborhood Patio
  • D’ La Santa Mexican · Inside the neighborhood
  • Gyro House Gyros · Inside the neighborhood
  • Son of a Butcher Korean · 0.1 mi away
  • Pecado Bueno Mexican · 0.1 mi away Patio
  • Sushi Nori Sushi · 0.1 mi away

I pulled these from OpenStreetMap: the nearest named restaurants and cafes, starting inside the neighborhood and measured from its edge. Places marked Patio have outdoor seating, from my research for Outdoor Seating Near Me, my other site; the photos come from that research too.

Housing context

Median home value
$1,586,000
Median gross rent
$3,500 or more
Owner-occupied
92.8%
Renter-occupied
7.2%

I pulled these from the census tract that covers this neighborhood, so they describe the tract, not the neighborhood itself. I report housing and housing cost only.

Bordering neighborhoods