A national consumer survey has given four senior communities in south King County and Pierce County  high marks, putting them among the top 1 percent of assisted-living communities nationwide.

Singled out in the online survey by Caring.com were Emeritus at Federal Way, Farrington Court in Kent, Village Green Retirement Campus in Federal Way, and Heritage House in Buckley.

Another Washington facility, Sequoia Assisted Living Community in Olympia, also was ranked among the best communities in the U.S.

Originally launched in January 2012 as the first of its kind in the senior living industry, this year’s Caring Stars award was determined from consumer ratings and reviews posted on Caring.com between Dec. 1, 2012, and Dec. 1, 2013. To qualify, a community had to have received three or more reviews during the time frame, at least one of which had the highest rating of five stars; an average overall rating (across all reviews on their listing) equaling greater than four stars; and no unresolved negative reviews.

Andy Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Caring.com, said “online word-of-mouth has grown in importance” in the senior living industry.

“Families tell us that reviews are among the top considerations when they choose an assisted-living or memory care community for a loved one, and we see communities with reviews getting significantly more online inquiries than those with no reviews,” Cohen said.

In research by Caring.com, 60 percent of family caregivers indicated they used the Internet in researching senior care service providers, according to Cohen,