Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Several subjects drag its grade down. Its weakest is safety (D): its police reported 51 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 92% of U.S. towns. It lags on cost of living as well: the typical home is worth about $368K, 4.7 years of the Spokane metro’s $77K median household income. Walkability is where it shines: it is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns. The overall grade lands at D, 254th of 285 in Washington. Nationally, it does better than 13% of U.S. towns. On history, just 31 of Washington’s 397 towns do worse. Airway Heights’ rate of thefts and burglaries is 32.5 per 1,000 residents, above both the Washington town median (15) and the median of U.S. towns (9.9).
Figures: FBI crime data, 2025 · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Airway Heights beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
6,114 counted in 2010 and 10,757 in 2020; an estimated 11,811 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 9.8% since 2020, after 75.9% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Airway Heights is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for hazard risk (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D for safety (better than 8%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 708 in 1960, 10,757 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2020 and 5 maps from 1943 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Airway Heights, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Airway Heights.
Airway Heights carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Washington (mostly inland flooding), draws workers from Spokane and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
5,850 jobs are based in Airway Heights, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 3,621 in 2013 to 5,850.
Jobs in Airway Heights grew by 2,229 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 5,850. Commuting out is the norm in the town: 13% of working residents work locally. Among residents in the town, 20% live below the poverty line. The median commute is under 10 miles.
| Airway Heights | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $63,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 4.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its one school is below. 634 students attend Airway Heights’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunset ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 634 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 519 to 449 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Among 132 Washington towns, just 10 have a higher rate of thefts and burglaries than Airway Heights. The rate of reported violence locally is 4.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Airway Heights | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 32.5 per 1,000 residents | 15 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 97% of Washington towns, with expected losses of about $115 per resident a year; that rating is what its A+ for hazard risk is built on.
For Airway Heights, the natural-hazard score from FEMA is 4 of 100. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2017. Expected losses in Airway Heights break down as 34% from inland flooding and 25% from cold waves.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
On the market in Airway Heights: a median 31 days to sell. Zillow values the typical Airway Heights home at about $368,000, about the same as a year ago, 37% below the Washington typical home. For Airway Heights, the median rent is $1,389 a month.
| Airway Heights | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 29% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,389 a month | $1,740 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 24.3°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 83% of Washington places with climate records; July afternoons average 84.2°.
About 45 inches of snow falls in a winter. Airway Heights’ peak summer temperature is 84°F.
| Airway Heights | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 84°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 24°F | 35°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 9,576 U.S. towns with household incomes like Airway Heights’s, it is healthier than 51%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
In Airway Heights, 39% of adults have obesity. On the CDC’s 31 measures, Airway Heights is ahead of Washington on 3 and behind on 21. Just over a fifth of adults in Airway Heights report frequent mental distress; 19% binge drink.
| Airway Heights | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 67% | 71% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 17% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Airway Heights | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.2% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 21.3% | 24.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.2% | 9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Trails run 1.4 miles in 6 parks and preserves. The trail density for Airway Heights comes to 0.2 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves in the town: 6, covering 25 acres.
| Airway Heights | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.9% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sunset Park | 0.5 mi | 10 |
| 2. Landreth Park | 0.5 mi | 8 |
| 3. Shorty Combs Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Airway Heights. Close and well known come first.
36 mi LakeCoeur D'Alene Lake
7 mi Stadium & arenaNumerica Veterans Arena
8 mi Theme parkRiverfront Park
8 mi GardenManito Park and Botanical Gardens
6 mi MuseumNorthwest Museum of Arts and Culture29 mi Ski areaMt. Spokane61 runs · 1,974 ft verticalCoeur D'Alene Lake: The original uploader was Jamidwyer at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · Numerica Veterans Arena: Jdubman at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Riverfront Park: en:User:Sundodger, Public domain · Manito Park and Botanical Gardens: Jdubman at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture: Murderbike, Public domain
7 within 15 miles of the center of Airway Heights
About 7 of every 100 Airway Heights residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Washington.
Where Airway Heights’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Washington, United States
Airway Heights is a city in Spokane County, Washington, United States, just west of Spokane. It is part of the Spokane metropolitan area and had a population of 10,757 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 11,950 in 2024. The city's name was taken from its close proximity to the runways at Fairchild Air Force Base and Spokane International Airport.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Airway Heights.
| Town | WA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airway Heights | #254 | D | C− | D | B | C+ |
| Spokane | #197 | C | C− | D− | B | B |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Airway Heights grades D overall, better than 13% of U.S. towns and #254 of 285 in Washington. It grades C+ for health, D for safety and B for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
