Oak Harbor, Washington

Area Profile

24,362 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Oak Harbor, in Island County.

62out of 100
Area Score
Top 40% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
OpportunityTop 13% of 4,199 cities measured77
Schools2,699th of 4,162 cities measured39
GrowthTop 27% of 4,224 cities measured61
Housing affordability3,312th of 4,218 cities measured51
ClimateTop 35% of 4,225 cities measured74
Physical resilienceTop 48% of 4,226 cities measured60
Access3,858th of 4,226 cities measured66
Economic stability2,595th of 4,226 cities measured52
The quick read

Oak Harbor ranks in the top 13% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.4% and median household income of $76,084. The unemployment rate is published for Island County, WA, which contains Oak Harbor, rather than for Oak Harbor alone.

In the public schools here, 48% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.3 students for every teacher.

119 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 5% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
24,362
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$76,084
Top 38% nationally
Density
2,521/sq mi
9.7 sq mi of land
Median age
31.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Washington
Micro area
Nearest major airport
BFI
55 mi · Boeing Fld/King County Intl
Median home value
$461,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Island County, WA, which contains Oak Harbor, is 3.4%, lower than in 84% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Island County, WA, which contains Oak Harbor, grew 2.1% over the past year, to 34,115 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsIsland County, WA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$89,40874th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftIsland County, WA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$72,95452nd percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$2,8032024 ACS 5-Year$76,084Top 38%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,8272024 ACS 5-Year$36,377Top 42%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.4%Top 40%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year20.2 minTop 18%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year28.9%Top 32%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year77.4%51st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentIsland County, WA’s figureJuly 202634,115Bottom 38%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Island County, WA’s figureJuly 2026+1.0%Top 30%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Island County, WA’s figureJuly 2026+2.1%Top 7%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceIsland County, WA’s figureJuly 202635,30538th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year77.7%Bottom 48%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year0.9%83rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Island County, WA’s figureJuly 2026−0.9%Top 15%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateIsland County, WA’s figureJuly 20263.4%Top 16%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year5.7%40th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202476k61k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $76,084 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Island County, WA, which contains this city.

48% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 62% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.3 students for every full-time teacher across 9 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
12
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.3
across 9 of them
Math proficiency
48.0%
Bottom 37% in Washington
Reading proficiency
62.4%
Bottom 38% in Washington
The 12 largest public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Oak Harbor High SchoolOak Harbor School District1,56219.338%66%
Oak Harbor Intermediate SchoolOak Harbor School District76717.447%60%
North Whidbey Middle SchoolOak Harbor School District70516.448%61%
Hillcrest ElementaryOak Harbor School District46014.866%67%
Crescent Harbor ElemOak Harbor School District41914.452%57%
Oak Harbor ElementaryOak Harbor School District41115.257%57%
Olympic View ElemOak Harbor School District41112.837%37%
HomeconnectionOak Harbor School District38564.245%75%
Broad View ElementaryOak Harbor School District36913.772%77%
Special EducationOak Harbor School District13519.3——
iGrad AcademyOak Harbor School District11———
Toddler Learning CenterCoupeville School District0———

43.1% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Washington’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Washington is up 35% over five years, and up 1.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $3,596 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.78% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,671, close to the $1,645 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,671 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $66,800 a year, about 88% of the median household income here of $76,084.

The typical renter household here spends 31% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,645 a month.

A median home at $461,200 costs 4.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $97,288, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
31.2%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,671
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,645
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$461,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Oak Harbor’s median household income of $76,084, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Washington’s figure2026 Q2+1.8%32nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Washington’s figure2026 Q2+35.1%28th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Washington’s figure2026 Q2+118.1%84th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year4.7Bottom 10%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year46.7%7th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3662024 ACS 5-Year10,69394th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,356Top 47%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,324Bottom 42%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,671Top 50%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$652024 ACS 5-Year$1,645Bottom 16%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,4932024 ACS 5-Year$461,20087th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1742024 ACS 5-Year$3,59679th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,6952024 ACS 5-Year$97,288Top 30%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.78%36th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year31.2%Bottom 35%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±562024 ACS 5-Year4581st percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%56th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year8.2%56th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2402024 ACS 5-Year91994th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

61/ 100
Top 27% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 fallen 2% since 2020, to 24,163 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 49 units authorized in 2025, 60% below the prior year.

82% of the 119 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Island County, which contains Oak Harbor, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $89,408, above the $72,954 of households that moved out.

At 4.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
119
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.9
Top 30% nationally
Year over year
+5%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
82.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202425k24k
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. It has been rising, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.1%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
58%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$89,408
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$72,954
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Snohomish County, WA 948 people · 14% of arrivals
  2. King County, WA 822 people · 12% of arrivals
  3. Skagit County, WA 355 people · 5.3% of arrivals
  4. San Diego County, CA 262 people · 3.9% of arrivals
  5. Whatcom County, WA 145 people · 2.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Snohomish County, WA 748 people · 11% of departures
  2. King County, WA 432 people · 6.5% of departures
  3. Skagit County, WA 382 people · 5.8% of departures
  4. San Diego County, CA 203 people · 3.1% of departures
  5. Whatcom County, WA 194 people · 2.9% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Island County, WA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20202021202220232024202512122
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−56%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 69°F and January a low of 38°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 19.9 inches, including 5.4 inches of snow.

30°50°70°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station WHIDBEY ISLAND NAS, 4.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals19.9"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals5.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals38°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals69°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals19°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

60 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and landslide, with earthquake alone responsible for 57% of it. Inland flooding and landslide are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

EarthquakeHigh
Volcanic activityModerate
Coastal floodingElevated
TsunamiModerate
AvalancheModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, ice storm, inland flooding, cold wave, winter weather, wildfire, heat wave, lightning, tornado, hail, strong wind, drought, hurricane.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
129
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
940
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Oak Harbor's police department reported 129 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 940.

Island County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.2 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 10.5 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 13.9 per 100,000 residents in Island County.

Homicide
2.2
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
10.5
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
13.9
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
12.8
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Oak Harbor’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Oak Harbor (Island County) rather than Oak Harbor itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Boeing Fld/King County Intl at 55 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year93.9%Top 30%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle55 miBottom 10%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year3.8%Top 29%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Boeing Fld/King County IntlBFI55 mi10,007 ft
Seattle-Tacoma IntlSEA60 mi11,901 ft
Grant County IntlMWH171 mi13,503 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.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
62
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Other cities in Oak Harbor, WA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
CamanoIsland County17,30365Camano vs Oak Harbor

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Oak Harbor side by side with a similar place.

Oak Harbor vs NorcrossOak Harbor vs McDonough

Moving to Oak Harbor from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Oak Harbor

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Oak Harbor with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Oak Harbor closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
9827740,917$83,253$499,600—