Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA

Metro Area Profile

124,538 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA metropolitan area.

58out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 30% of 379 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 26% of 379 published metros68
GrowthTop 12% of 821 published metros75
Housing affordability702nd of 822 published metros73
Climate420th of 822 published metros66
Physical resilience777th of 822 published metros15
Access572nd of 822 published metros66
Economic stabilityTop 36% of 822 published metros62
The quick read

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 1,168 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 18% on the prior year.

Buying strains local incomes far more than renting does — the median home is 5.7 times median household income, against a historic benchmark near three — while rent takes 18% of it.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by inland flooding, wildfire and earthquake.

At a glance

Population
124,538
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$81,938
Top 15% nationally
Density
26/sq mi
4740.4 sq mi of land
Median age
39.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA
Nearest major airport
MWH
59 mi · Grant County Intl
Median home value
$469,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.8% is lower than 71% of the 379 measured US metros.

Unemployment has been falling for 4 consecutive months, most recently 3.8%.

Employment grew 0.3% over the past year, to 61,650 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$3,942$81,938Top 15%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,496$42,730Top 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate8.3%Bottom 5%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute21.6 minBottom 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher27.8%Top 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment61,650Bottom 21%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-0.6%Bottom 38%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)0.3%Top 26%June 2026
Labor force64,104Bottom 21%June 2026
Labor force participation60.8%Top 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$64,240Top 31%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$49,290Top 34%2025 OEWS
Metro employment51,220Bottom 18%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.4%Top 28%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.8%Bottom 29%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/066.02.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.8% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Largest occupations — Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,690$36,450
Retail Salespersons1,620$37,700
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse1,610$40,680
Registered Nurses1,330$112,280
Cashiers1,240$36,550
Home Health and Personal Care Aides1,120$47,730

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,251 takes 18% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 5.7 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
18.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.7×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,251
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$469,100
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income5.73Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate66.2%Bottom 28%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±9556,637Top 36%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$59$1,251Top 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$9,741$469,100Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income18.3%Top 48%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate16.2%Top 23%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
75/ 100
Top 12% of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 4% since 2020, reaching 127,023 in 2024.

At 9.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
1,168
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
9.4
Top 7% nationally
Year over year
+18%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
52.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024127k122k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 88°F and January a low of 24°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 7.8 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station WENATCHEE PANGBORN AP, 25.6 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND1.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation7.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low24°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high88°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing46°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

15 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, wildfire and earthquake.

WildfireHigh
Volcanic activityModerate
Inland floodingHigh
EarthquakeElevated
AvalancheElevated
LandslideModerate
Heat waveModerate
Cold waveElevated
HailModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, winter weather, drought, ice storm, strong wind, tornado.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 59 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Grant County IntlMWH59 mi13,503 ft
Boeing Fld/King County IntlBFI96 mi10,007 ft
Seattle-Tacoma IntlSEA98 mi11,901 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
58
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.