Seattle/Compare
Cascade vs Northwest
Cascade and Northwest are two official districts in Seattle. Northwest is the calmer Part I map (79 vs 11). Northwest wins the errand count. Northwest has the lower ACS median ($1,925).
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · SPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM Sep 2026 · updated Sep 2026
Scores
Fit axes among official Seattle Neighborhood Map Atlas districts.
| Axis | Cascade | Northwest |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | 11 | 79 |
| Schools | 42 | 61 |
| Walk | 18 | 28 |
| Cost fit | 100 | 100 |
| Vibe | 18 | 22 |
| Median rent | $2,502 | $1,925 |
| Median home | $640,715 | $974,623 |
| Population | 15,054 | 48,539 |
| Commute to Downtown | 10 min | 26 min |
| Commute to South Lake Union | 6 min | 22 min |
| Commute to University | 14 min | 22 min |
Living numbers
Who rents, how old, how much crime, how many shops — beside the scores.
| Fact | Cascade | Northwest |
|---|---|---|
| Renters | 95% | 43% |
| Median age | 29.4 | 40.6 |
| Median income | $144K | $140K |
| Part I per 1k | 98.3 | 28.2 |
| Groceries / 800m | 11 | 18 |
| Transit stops / 800m | 67 | 111 |
| Parks / 800m | 35 | 64 |
| 311 last 14 days | 379 | 908 |
Rent
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Seattle city. Up 79% since 2014. SLU is 23% above the 2024 city median. NW is 5% below the 2024 city median.
Overlapping 5-year ACS windows (B25064), not asking rent. Census does not publish a rent series for each official neighborhood, so the line is the city place. Dashed marks are each area’s ACS 2024 median.
Which to pick
The same numbers as the table, in sentences. Nobody wins the city.
Pick Cascade if the shorter ride to Downtown is the point. 10 vs 26 minutes to Downtown. Read both pages before you decide.
Pick Northwest if the quieter map matters more than the scene and the rent gap is the point. Safety is 79 vs 11. ACS median rent is $1,925 vs $2,502. Schools score 61 vs 42. Read both pages before you decide.
Cascade
The official name is Cascade. Search South Lake Union or Eastlake. Amazon’s campus, Lake Union, and a skyline that did not exist fifteen years ago.
$2,502 median rent · safety 11 · walk 18
Northwest
Greenwood’s strip and Broadview’s bluff. Search Greenwood; the official district runs to the county line. More house than Fremont, more car than Ballard.
$1,925 median rent · safety 79 · walk 28
Common questions
Same pair, said in questions. The numbers are in the tables.
Which is cheaper, Cascade or Northwest?
Northwest is the lower ACS median: $2,502 vs $1,925. About 43% rent in Northwest vs 95% in Cascade. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Cascade more walkable than Northwest?
Northwest wins the errand count (walk 18 vs 28). Groceries inside 800 meters: 11 vs 18. Not a Walk Score license.
Which is safer on this map, Cascade or Northwest?
Northwest is the calmer Part I read (79 vs 11). Combined rate 28.2 vs 98.3 per 1,000. Visitors count in those numbers.
Which scores higher for families, Cascade or Northwest?
Northwest leads the school axis (61 vs 42). Nearby rating is 7.4 / 10 vs 6.8 / 10. Median age 40.6 vs 29.4. Cascade has more of the night. Neither number is a school assignment.
Which has the shorter commute to Downtown?
10 minutes from Cascade to Downtown, 26 from Northwest. Cascade is the shorter weekday. Not this hour's traffic.
If you drop both
Closest official district that is not Cascade or Northwest: Queen Anne. The hill looks at downtown; Lower Queen Anne eats after the game. Counterbalance and a grocery you can walk to if you picked the right side of the ridge.
Scores are relative among official Seattle Neighborhood Map Atlas districts with the same editorial weights. Read the method.