Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Colville's standout: natural-hazard risk is low. Overall it grades A−, 36th among Washington's 285 graded towns. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 88% of U.S. towns and it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 85% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is incomes: the median household income is $57K, and 22% of residents live below the poverty line. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 90% of U.S. towns, with 8 places on the National Register. 42% of working residents work locally in Colville, against 4.8% in Washington’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. On cost of living, just 26 of Washington’s 395 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is Colville City Park, at 20 acres.
Where Colville beats most towns.
Keller House
Its founding year, 1825, comes before those of 99% of the Washington towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 67 in 1880, 4,917 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1860 and 3 maps from 1952 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Colville is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for hazard risk (better than 97% of comparable towns) to D for jobs and income (better than 13%), so the A− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Colville. Close and well known come first.
9 mi National Recreation AreaLake Roosevelt National Recreation Area1.2M visitors a yearLake Roosevelt National Recreation Area: Karyn Christner, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Colville, 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 Colville.
Colville pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Washington norm, carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Washington (mostly inland flooding) and draws workers from Spokane and beyond.
4,290 jobs are based in Colville, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 14 minutes, against 26.6 across Washington.
The average trip to work in Colville is 14 minutes. Since 2013, Colville has added 1,004 jobs, to 4,290 in 2023. The top destinations are Spokane (12%), Spokane Valley (5%) and Kettle Falls (3%).
| Colville | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $57,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 15% | 15% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Colville School District. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Colville Senior High School, with 506 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hofstetter ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–2 | Grades K–2 | 407 | – |
| Colville Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 506 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
4.0 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Colville’s trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile.
| Colville | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.3 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.2% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Colville City Park | 0.3 mi | 20 |
| 2. Vaagen Field | — | 13 |
| 3. Rotary Field | — | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 96% of Washington towns, with expected losses of about $210 per resident a year; that rating is what its A+ for hazard risk is built on.
One flood insurance claim has been paid in Colville since 2007.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025, 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
Only 4 of the 132 Washington towns we compare have a lower violent crime rate than Colville.
| Colville | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.4 per 1,000 residents | 15.1 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.2 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Colville grades A− overall with a typical home of about $333K, below the Washington typical value; only 3 of the 20 Washington towns graded A− or better can say that. The median property tax bill is $1,633, against $4,556 across Washington, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
57% of households own their home in Colville. The typical Colville home is worth about $333,000, up 0.5% in a year, 43% below the Washington typical home.
| Colville | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $912 a month | $1,740 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 57% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Colville has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 22° and about 43 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 7,896 U.S. towns with household incomes like Colville’s, it is healthier than 81%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income. Within Washington it is less healthy than 81% of the 285 graded towns: Washington sets a high bar.
Colville beats the Washington average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 16% of Colville adults report frequent physical distress.
| Colville | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 71% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 33% | 36% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 17% | 19% |
| What stands out | Colville | WA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 74.5% | 70.7% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.6% | 9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Colville; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Colville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
Where Colville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
8 places in Colville on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Washington, United States
Colville is a city in Stevens County, Washington, United States. The population was 4,917 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 5,009 in 2024, It is the county seat of Stevens County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Colville grades A− overall, better than 78% of U.S. towns and #36 of 285 in Washington. It grades B− for health, A for safety and B+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
