Spokane, Washington

Area Profile

230,293 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Spokane, in Spokane County.

63out of 100
Area Score
Top 36% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 41% of 4,199 cities measured61
Schools2,791st of 4,162 cities measured37
Growth2,224th of 4,224 cities measured49
Housing affordability2,761st of 4,218 cities measured59
Climate2,599th of 4,225 cities measured67
Physical resilienceTop 12% of 4,226 cities measured89
AccessTop 42% of 4,226 cities measured95
Economic stability2,804th of 4,226 cities measured49
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.5% and median household income $70,064, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

In the public schools here, 47% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.7 students for every teacher.

927 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 10% 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
230,293
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$70,064
Top 45% nationally
Density
3,349/sq mi
68.8 sq mi of land
Median age
37.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Washington
Nearest major airport
GEG
6 mi · Spokane Intl
Median home value
$363,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.5%, lower than in 81% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Unemployment has been falling for 5 consecutive months, most recently 3.5%.

Employment fell 0.9% over the past year, to 105,404 employed residents.

34% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 75% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsSpokane County, WA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$65,37536th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftSpokane County, WA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$66,02537th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$1,5942024 ACS 5-Year$70,064Top 45%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$8022024 ACS 5-Year$40,080Top 32%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year13.0%Bottom 41%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.1 minTop 26%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year33.9%Top 25%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year67.2%22nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 2026105,404Top 42%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.6%Bottom 29%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.9%Bottom 49%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026109,19858th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year77.3%Bottom 47%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageSpokane-Spokane Valley, WA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$68,570Top 49%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageSpokane-Spokane Valley, WA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$54,660Top 40%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year2.7%92nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.6%Top 23%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.5%Top 19%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year15.0%76th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.23.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.5% in July 2026. It has been falling for the last 5 months, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. 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.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202470k57k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $70,064 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.

Largest occupations — Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides10,580$47,410
Fast Food and Counter Workers7,870$35,780
Retail Salespersons7,400$36,880
Registered Nurses6,850$111,750
Stockers and Order Fillers5,330$40,510
Cashiers4,470$36,290

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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.

47% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 61% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.7 students for every full-time teacher across 68 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
81
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.7
across 68 of them
Math proficiency
46.9%
Bottom 33% in Washington
Reading proficiency
61.2%
Bottom 33% in Washington
The 12 largest of 81 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Lewis & Clark High SchoolSpokane School District1,67320.450%74%
North Central High SchoolSpokane School District1,64718.548%76%
Ferris High SchoolSpokane School District1,64418.540%75%
Rogers High SchoolSpokane School District1,49816.820%51%
Shadle Park High SchoolSpokane School District1,44518.137%70%
Sacajawea Middle SchoolSpokane School District85518.268%79%
Spokane International Academy · charterSpokane International Academy82415.351%73%
Northwood Middle SchoolMead School District79619.064%70%
Mead Learning OptionsMead School District79030.439%66%
Carla Peperzak Middle SchoolSpokane School District75416.8——
Highland Middle SchoolMead School District70417.6——
Shaw Middle SchoolSpokane School District69315.424%32%

57.1% 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.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 1% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 100.9, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA Metro Area is up 29% over five years, and flat 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 $2,947 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.81% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,531, some 26% above the $1,215 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,531 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $61,200 a year, about 87% of the median household income here of $70,064.

The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,215 a month.

A median home at $363,500 costs 3.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $93,085, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
100.9

Prices here run about 1% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
31.6%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,531
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,215
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$363,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Spokane’s median household income of $70,064, 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
Cost of living indexthe Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA Metro Area’s figure2023100.9Top 46%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q20.0%7th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+29.1%14th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+126.9%93rd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year3.9Bottom 19%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year58.8%19th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1,0152024 ACS 5-Year102,83499th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,193Top 36%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,088Top 47%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,531Top 42%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$202024 ACS 5-Year$1,215Bottom 31%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,5102024 ACS 5-Year$363,50079th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$552024 ACS 5-Year$2,94772nd percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,4642024 ACS 5-Year$93,085Top 33%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year0.81%39th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year31.6%Bottom 33%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2222024 ACS 5-Year56497th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%57th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.7%37th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±6582024 ACS 5-Year5,38899th 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 and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

49/ 100
Ranks 2,224 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 grown 1% since 2020, reaching 230,609 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 692 units authorized in 2025, 48% below the prior year.

70% of the 927 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 Spokane County, which contains Spokane, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $65,375, close to the $66,025 of households that moved out.

At 4.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
927
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.0
Top 35% nationally
Year over year
−10%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
70.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024231k229k
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 holding roughly steady, 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
64%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$65,375
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$66,025
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Kootenai County, ID 1,801 people · 9.1% of arrivals
  2. King County, WA 1,175 people · 5.9% of arrivals
  3. Stevens County, WA 892 people · 4.5% of arrivals
  4. Snohomish County, WA 621 people · 3.1% of arrivals
  5. Pierce County, WA 567 people · 2.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Kootenai County, ID 1,663 people · 8.5% of departures
  2. Stevens County, WA 1,035 people · 5.3% of departures
  3. King County, WA 938 people · 4.8% of departures
  4. Maricopa County, AZ 519 people · 2.7% of departures
  5. Pierce County, WA 470 people · 2.4% 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 Spokane County, WA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420251k539
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+28%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 87°F and January a low of 26°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 17.4 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 38, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SPOKANE FELTS FLD, 5.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year622024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals17.4"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals26°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals87°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year12024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year382024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals40°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
38
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
62
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

89 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and wildfire, with inland flooding alone responsible for 54% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 88% of measured US cities.

WildfireElevated
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, ice storm, inland flooding, strong wind, winter weather, earthquake, avalanche, hail, lightning, landslide, tornado, drought, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, 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
613
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
4,392
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.

Spokane's police department reported 613 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 4,392.

Spokane County records 2.9 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 13.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 43.9 per 100,000 residents in Spokane County.

Homicide
2.9
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.6
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
43.9
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
21.9
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 Spokane’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 Spokane (Spokane County) rather than Spokane 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.

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. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. 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 Spokane Intl at 6 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year91.9%Top 40%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle6 miTop 11%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year5.5%Top 39%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Spokane IntlGEG6 mi8,199 ft
Grant County IntlMWH94 mi13,503 ft
Glacier Park IntlGPI153 mi9,007 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
63
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Other cities in Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Spokane ValleySpokane County106,36563Spokane Valley vs Spokane
CheneySpokane County12,80460Cheney vs Spokane
Liberty LakeSpokane County12,73767Liberty Lake vs Spokane
Airway HeightsSpokane County11,24561
FairwoodSpokane County10,67468

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 Spokane side by side with a similar place.

Spokane vs Spokane ValleySpokane vs Billings

Moving to Spokane 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
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
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 Spokane

10 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Spokane 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 Spokane 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
9920858,669$88,599$450,80066
9920543,169$77,374$327,40064
9922336,094$94,279$490,50068
9920732,770$60,452$274,100—
9922424,919$80,770$461,000—
9920321,468$104,372$483,300—
9921721,441$73,620$377,400—
9920219,921$65,189$304,600—
9920115,829$41,171$312,600—
992047,643$58,277$397,700—