Rainier Beach

Seattle's Rainier Valley district, about 7.38 miles from downtown, in King County.

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

Kubota Gardens is inside Rainier Beach, and it was the first place I noted when I pulled the park records, along with Fletcher Place and Fred Hutchinson Playground. In my comparison against 82 other Seattle neighborhoods, the average home of 1,915 sq ft is larger than 75% of them, and the average lot of 7,238 sq ft is larger than 65%. Sidewalk coverage is an estimated 70.1%, and the blocks average 410 ft.

Illustration of a residential street of detached single-family houses, built mostly in the 1950s.
Illustration
Downtown Rainier Beach 2 mi N ↑
I marked Rainier Beach on a map of Seattle drawn from the neighborhood boundaries the city publishes. Downtown is marked for reference.

At a glance

Area
755 acres
Homes
2,934
Median year built
1953
Average home size
1,915 sq ft Larger than 75% of Seattle neighborhoods
Average lot size
7,238 sq ft Larger than 65% of Seattle neighborhoods
Streets steeper than 8%
21.2% of street length Hillier than 80% of Seattle neighborhoods Elevation 18–391 ft
In FEMA's 100-year flood zone
None
Within 500 ft of a freeway
None The nearest is 0.1 miles away
In an airport noise zone
0.5% of residential lots Inside the 65-decibel noise contour around Boeing Field
New homes permitted
238 More than 70% of Seattle neighborhoods Since January 2023

Share of residential lots: 95.9% single-family, 1.4% townhouse, 0.7% condominium, 1.2% duplex to fourplex, 0.2% 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
129 Fewer than 70% of Seattle neighborhoods
Average block length
410 ft Longer than 65% of Seattle neighborhoods
Sidewalk coverage
70.1% (my estimate)
Transit stops within ¼ mile
79 More than 60% of Seattle neighborhoods
Everyday categories within ½ mile
8

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

Parks and recreation

Fletcher Place, Fred Hutchinson Playground, Kubota Gardens, Kubota Gardens Natural Area, Lakeridge Park, Sturtevant Ravine, Thayer Place

Schools in and near this neighborhood

  • Emerson Elementary School PK–5 Seattle School District No. 1
  • South Shore PK-8 School PK–8 Seattle School District No. 1
  • Rainier Beach High School 9–12 Seattle School District No. 1
  • Dunlap Elementary School PK–5 Seattle School District No. 1
  • Alan T. Sugiyama High School 9–12 Seattle School District No. 1
  • Middle College High School 9–12 Seattle School District No. 1
  • Rainier View Elementary School PK–5 Seattle School District No. 1

Food, drink and daily errands

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

Restaurants and coffee I found nearby

  • Redwing Cafe Cafe · Inside the neighborhood Patio
  • Drae's Lake Route American · Inside the neighborhood
  • Just Like Home Jamaican Kitchen Caribbean · Inside the neighborhood
  • Rainier Crawfish Cajun · Inside the neighborhood
  • Pizzeria Pulcinella Pizza · Inside the neighborhood Patio
  • Umami Kushi Cafe · 0.1 mi away
  • Starbucks Coffee · 0.1 mi away
  • Phat Loi Vietnamese · 0.1 mi away
  • Al-Uruba Restaurant Somali · 0.3 mi away
  • Mama Sambusa Kitchen Restaurant · 0.6 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
$616,200
Median gross rent
$2,368
Owner-occupied
83.7%
Renter-occupied
16.3%

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