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.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 13 sourcesOak 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
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.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsIsland County, WA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $89,408 | 74th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftIsland County, WA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $72,954 | 52nd percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$2,8032024 ACS 5-Year | $76,084 | Top 38%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$1,8272024 ACS 5-Year | $36,377 | Top 42%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 8.4% | Top 40%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 20.2 min | Top 18%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 28.9% | Top 32%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 77.4% | 51st percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentIsland County, WA’s figureJuly 2026 | 34,115 | Bottom 38%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)Island County, WA’s figureJuly 2026 | +1.0% | Top 30%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)Island County, WA’s figureJuly 2026 | +2.1% | Top 7%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceIsland County, WA’s figureJuly 2026 | 35,305 | 38th percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 77.7% | Bottom 48%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Public transit to work ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.9% | 83rd percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)Island County, WA’s figureJuly 2026 | −0.9% | Top 15%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateIsland County, WA’s figureJuly 2026 | 3.4% | Top 16%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.7% | 40th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Median household income, successive ACS releases
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.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Harbor High School | Oak Harbor School District | 1,562 | 19.3 | 38% | 66% |
| Oak Harbor Intermediate School | Oak Harbor School District | 767 | 17.4 | 47% | 60% |
| North Whidbey Middle School | Oak Harbor School District | 705 | 16.4 | 48% | 61% |
| Hillcrest Elementary | Oak Harbor School District | 460 | 14.8 | 66% | 67% |
| Crescent Harbor Elem | Oak Harbor School District | 419 | 14.4 | 52% | 57% |
| Oak Harbor Elementary | Oak Harbor School District | 411 | 15.2 | 57% | 57% |
| Olympic View Elem | Oak Harbor School District | 411 | 12.8 | 37% | 37% |
| Homeconnection | Oak Harbor School District | 385 | 64.2 | 45% | 75% |
| Broad View Elementary | Oak Harbor School District | 369 | 13.7 | 72% | 77% |
| Special Education | Oak Harbor School District | 135 | 19.3 | — | — |
| iGrad Academy | Oak Harbor School District | 11 | — | — | — |
| Toddler Learning Center | Coupeville School District | 0 | — | — | — |
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.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →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.
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.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Washington’s figure2026 Q2 | +1.8% | 32nd percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Washington’s figure2026 Q2 | +35.1% | 28th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Washington’s figure2026 Q2 | +118.1% | 84th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year | 4.7 | Bottom 10%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 46.7% | 7th percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±3662024 ACS 5-Year | 10,693 | 94th percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $1,356 | Top 47%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $2,324 | Bottom 42%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,671 | Top 50%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$652024 ACS 5-Year | $1,645 | Bottom 16%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$14,4932024 ACS 5-Year | $461,200 | 87th percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$1742024 ACS 5-Year | $3,596 | 79th percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$7,6952024 ACS 5-Year | $97,288 | Top 30%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.78% | 36th percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 31.2% | Bottom 35%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±562024 ACS 5-Year | 45 | 81st percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.4% | 56th percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 8.2% | 56th percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±2402024 ACS 5-Year | 919 | 94th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 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.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
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.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Snohomish County, WA 948 people · 14% of arrivals
- King County, WA 822 people · 12% of arrivals
- Skagit County, WA 355 people · 5.3% of arrivals
- San Diego County, CA 262 people · 3.9% of arrivals
- Whatcom County, WA 145 people · 2.2% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Snohomish County, WA 748 people · 11% of departures
- King County, WA 432 people · 6.5% of departures
- Skagit County, WA 382 people · 5.8% of departures
- San Diego County, CA 203 people · 3.1% of departures
- 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
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.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 19.9" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals | 5.4" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 38°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 69°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 19°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
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.
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.
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.
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.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 93.9% | Top 30%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 55 mi | Bottom 10%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 2 | Bottom 8%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 3.8% | Top 29%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing Fld/King County Intl | BFI | 55 mi | 10,007 ft |
| Seattle-Tacoma Intl | SEA | 60 mi | 11,901 ft |
| Grant County Intl | MWH | 171 mi | 13,503 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.
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Other cities in Oak Harbor, WA
Same metropolitan area, measured the same way| City | County | Population | Area Score | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camano | Island County | 17,303 | 65 | Camano 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.
Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyCompare
Put Oak Harbor side by side with a similar place.
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 for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Safety | Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency | 2025 calendar year |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Safety | U.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 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA 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 areaEvery 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.
| ZIP | Population | Median household income | Median home value | Area Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98277 | 40,917 | $83,253 | $499,600 | — |