An earlier post listed Seattle as ranking 5th for the highest cost of homeownership in the country. Other recent reports about Seattle and Washington state include air quality, health care, “cheap” retirement destinations in the state, access to outdoor recreation, and the arts.

Air Quality:

According to the 2024 World Air Quality Report, Seattle was the cleanest major city in the U.S. (The towns on Washington’s coast have even higher air quality.) According to the Air Quality Life Index, poor air quality is linked to shorter life expectancy, risk of respiratory problems and dementia. The report provides the most comprehensive data collection in the world with more than 30,000 air quality monitoring stations. The 2024 report showed that only 17% of cities around the world met the WHO air pollution guidelines, and only seven countries: Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Estonia, Grenada, Iceland, and New Zealand. According to the report, the most polluted major city in the U.S. is. Los Angeles CA.

Health Care Rankings

US News recently evaluated the best states for health care, which the organization considers to be one of the categories for ranking best places. US News’ healthcare ranking system included health care access, health care quality, and public health outcomes. Hawaii came out on top at #1 (followed by Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey and Rhode Island). Washington came in as the 10th best state overall for health care. Mississippi came in last. Beyond the health care index, other categories US News utilizes for ranking Best Places to Retire include Happiness Index; Affordability Index; Retiree Taxes Index; Desirability Index, and Job Market Index.

Naples, Florida topped US News’ list of Best Places to Retire; Seattle was 22nd on the list and Spokane 59th.

Cheapest Places to Retire

The personal finance site, GOBankingRates.com, recently released a report on the 50 Cheapest Places to Retire Across America. Two cities in Washington state made the list.

GOBankingRates analyzed the 100 biggest cities in the country based on annual retirement income needed to cover basic costs, which include housing, healthcare, groceries, transportation and utilities. The rankings also included livability factors such as recreation and services, as well as only selecting cities where people age 65+ made up at least 10% of the population.

First and second were Akron, Ohio and Albuquerque, New Mexico, respectively.

The two Washington cities that made the list were Spokane and Tacoma.

Spokane came in at #3 out of 50.

• Monthly expenditures: $1,723
• Percent of population age 65 and older: 15%
• Livability score: 72

Tacoma came in 33rd out of 50.

• Monthly expenditures: $1,819
• Percent of population age 65 and older: 14.6%
• Livability score: 78

You can view the entire list as well as read more about how the cities were selected at the following link: Cheapest Places to Retire

Best Places for Outdoor Activities

Niche.com, which works to help “find where you belong” and best places to live, ranked various Washington state cities for their access to outdoor activities in the country. Niche called Seattle the #2 city for outdoor activities in America; Bellevue came in at #5; Kent was listed at #15; Vancouver WA ranked #20; Tacoma #24; 34th is Everett; Spokane #39. Other cities mentioned by Niche when considering outdoor recreation access include Bellingham, Redmond, Kirkland, Port Townsend, and Anacortes.

The Arts

The non-profit organization SmileHub, which issues reports on best charities, reported on the “friendliest” states for the arts in 2025 based on 16 key metrics, from the share of adults who create art to the average salary of fine artists to graduate programs in the arts. Having healthy and diverse access to the arts is one of the qualities that increase a place’s ranking in best places to retire. With #1 being the best to 25 being average, Washington state earned an overall rank of 3rd. The state ranked 1st in artists per capita, 4th in arts charities per capita, 5th in the number of fine arts museums and galleries per capita, 16th in the share of residents who attend art events, and 19th in average salary for fine artists.