Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Chelan's standout: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 95% of U.S. towns. Overall it grades C+, ranked 157th of 285 in Washington. It has 10 miles of trail. Its weakest subject is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 74% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. 35% of working residents work locally in Chelan, against 4.8% in Washington’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Chelan has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Ruby Theater and St. Andrews Episcopal Church. Among 285 Washington towns, just 4 have a lower January low than Chelan.
Where Chelan beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Chelan’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Chelan is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 95% of comparable towns) to D for hazard risk (better than 9%), so the C+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 682 in 1910, 4,222 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1902 and 3 maps from 1968 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Chelan, 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 Chelan.
Chelan is a second-home town, draws workers from Wenatchee and beyond and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Washington.
3,526 jobs are based in Chelan, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 13.8 minutes, against 26.6 across Washington.
About one in 3 of Chelan’s working residents works in town. The average trip to work in Chelan is 14 minutes. Since 2013, Chelan has added 1,456 jobs, to 3,526 in 2023.
| Chelan | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $83,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Lake Chelan School District. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Chelan High School, with 439 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgen Owings Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 472 | – |
| Chelan High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 439 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
9.9 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. Chelan’s trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile.
| Chelan | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.4 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.9% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Don Morse Memorial Park | 0.8 mi | 19 |
| 2. Chelan Riverwalk Park | 0.8 mi | 14 |
| 3. Lakeside Park | 0.2 mi | 8 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Chelan has chilly winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 23° and about 21 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical value, about $491K, is 20% below its June 2022 peak. At about $491K, home values are down 12% in five years, against a rise of 10% across Washington.
The typical Chelan home is worth about $491,000, down 9.1% in a year, 16% below the Washington typical home. 56% of households own their home in Chelan.
| Chelan | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,368 a month | $1,740 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Within Washington it is less healthy than 78% of the 285 graded towns: Washington sets a high bar.
Chelan beats the Washington average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 13. 28% of Chelan adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Chelan | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 71% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Chelan | WA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 75.1% | 70.7% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.8% | 5.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Chelan; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Chelan residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
5 places in Chelan on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Chelan.
City in Washington, United States
Chelan ( shə-LAN) is a city in Chelan County, Washington, United States. The estimated population was 4,222 at the 2020 census. It lies on the southeast tip of Lake Chelan, where the lake flows into the Chelan River. Chelan is part of the Wenatchee−East Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Chelan grades C+ overall, better than 40% of U.S. towns and #157 of 285 in Washington. It grades B for health and B for schools. Hazard risk 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−.
4 notable people were born here, including Alice Stuart and Andy Larkin.
