Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,326, settled in 1898.
Big Lake’s best subject grade is an A for health; its weakest is a D for cost of living. On walkability, just 36 of Washington’s 396 towns do worse. The biggest park or preserve is Big Lake Wetlands Conservation Area, at 73 acres. Big Lake has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
1,835 counted in 2010 and 2,980 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Big Lake is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,153 in 2000, 2,980 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2009 and 2 maps from 1944 on.
Big Lake is unincorporated, so Skagit County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Big Lake.
Big Lake beats the Washington average on 5 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 30% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Big Lake, below both the Washington town median (33%) and the median of U.S. towns (36%). 16% of Big Lake adults get no exercise outside work.
| Big Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 25% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 71% | 79% |
| What stands out | Big Lake | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6% | 8.4% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8% | 10.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Sedro-Woolley School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Lake Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 288 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Big Lake for work: only 1% work in town. Since 2013, Big Lake has added 47 jobs, to 128 in 2023. At $109,000, Big Lake’s median household income is against $98,000 in Washington’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns.
| Big Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $109,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.1% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.9% | 4.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 12% of residents (24% statewide); people 65 and older are 23% of residents (17% statewide). 36% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Big Lake.
| Big Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 16% | 18% |
| Median age | 42.9 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 30% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±5.1 points. Across Washington, 49.6% of residents are women.
| Big Lake | WA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.3% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.1% | 9.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 1.7% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.9% | 15.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 18.3% | 14.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 6.9% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.3% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.9% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.5% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.1% | 7.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.3% | 21.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.3% | 21% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 15.9% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.7% | 24% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.6% | 15.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,300, single groups can be off by several points
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 68% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Big Lake has mild winters and cool summers, with plenty of rain. Big Lake’s July high is 74°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
2.6 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The trail density in Big Lake is 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Big Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.5% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Big Lake Wetlands Conservation Area | — | 73 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The median sale price was $866,000 in May 2026.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Big Lake. Close and well known come first.
Big draw33 mi MountainMount Baker
36 mi National ParkNorth Cascades National Park47K visitors a year
30 mi LandmarkFort Worden
29 mi Stadium & arenaAngel of the Winds Arena
26 mi LandmarkFort Casey
34 mi MuseumFlying Heritage CollectionMount Baker: Walter Siegmund (talk), CC BY 2.5 · North Cascades National Park: Daniel Hershman, CC BY 2.0 · Fort Worden: Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Angel of the Winds Arena: Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Casey: mikelehen, CC BY 2.0 · Flying Heritage Collection: nsimpson, CC BY-SA 2.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Big Lake
About 0 of every 100 Big Lake residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
Where Big Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
One town shares a border with Big Lake.
| Town | WA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Lake | — | — | D | — | C+ | A |
| Mount Vernon | #260 | D | D | C+ | C− | B |
Big Lake has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Big Lake reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Big Lake with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $666,000, 13% above the Washington typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
