Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Settled in 1898, this town now has 2,326 residents.
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.
Nearly a third of Big Lake adults have obesity. Against the Washington average, Big Lake comes out ahead on 5 CDC measures out of 31, and behind on 2. In Big Lake, 72% of adults had a checkup this year, against 71% in Washington’s towns and 79% across U.S. towns. Among adults in the town, 16% get no exercise outside work and 15% report frequent mental distress.
| 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
The Sedro-Woolley School District runs its public schools. Its one school is below. Big Lake’s only public school teaches 288 students.
| 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
The top destinations are Mount Vernon (19%), Seattle (9%) and Everett (6%). Just 1% of Big Lake’s working residents have a job in town. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in the town rose by 47, to 128. Its typical journey to work is 29 minutes.
| 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
The share of residents in Big Lake who are 65 or older: 23%. In Big Lake, the midpoint age is 42.9 years, where Washington’s towns sit at 38.5 years and U.S. towns at 40.5 years. 36% of adults 25 and older hold at least a bachelor’s degree, against 40% across Washington.
| 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
FEMA puts 66% of Big Lake’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 18% to earthquakes. Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in 68% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Summer afternoons peak near 74° in July, and January nights bottom out around 35°; snowfall runs to about 6 inches a winter. Summers in Big Lake are cool, and winters mild, with plenty of rain.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Walkers can cover 2.6 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Big Lake’s density of trails stands at 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
92% of households are owner-occupiers in Big Lake. In Big Lake, the going rate for rent is $1,980 a month.
| Big Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 92% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,980 a month | $1,739 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · 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.
