Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ephrata grades C overall, 202nd among Washington's 285 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Natural-hazard risk is low. On the other side, the median household income is $70K, and 21% of residents live below the poverty line. 29% of working residents work locally in Ephrata, where Washington’s towns sit at 4.8% and U.S. towns at 8%. Ephrata has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Grant County Courthouse and Bell Hotel. Only 6 of the 285 Washington towns we compare have a lower January low than Ephrata.
Where Ephrata beats most towns.
7,664 counted in 2010 and 8,477 in 2020; an estimated 8,834 in 2025.
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 Ephrata is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 323 in 1910, 8,477 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 1938 and 2 maps from 1956 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ephrata, 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 Ephrata.
Ephrata carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Washington (mostly inland flooding) and trades workers with Moses Lake and other neighbors, but it has poverty well above the Washington rate.
The median property tax bill is $1,871, against $4,556 across Washington, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The typical Ephrata home is worth about $320,000, about the same as a year ago, 46% below the Washington typical home. The median rent in Ephrata is $1,106 a month.
| Ephrata | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,106 a month | $1,740 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 65% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Ephrata School District. Two of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Ridge ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 480 | – |
| Ephrata High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 886 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 94% of Washington towns, with expected losses of about $135 per resident a year; that rating is what its A− for hazard risk is built on.
Ephrata’s FEMA risk score is 14 of 100. Since 1979, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ephrata.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 304 to 222 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Ephrata | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Oasis Park | — | 13 |
| 2. Ephrata Sports Complex | — | 12 |
| 3. Patrick Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Ephrata has chilly winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 89° and January nights drop to 23°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Ephrata has about as many jobs (3,783) as working residents, but only 1,047 people both live and work here.
About one in 3 of Ephrata’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Ephrata has added 291 jobs, to 3,783 in 2023. The top destinations are Moses Lake (10%), Quincy (7%) and Wenatchee (4%).
| Ephrata | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Ephrata beats the Washington average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 22. 13% of Ephrata adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
| Ephrata | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 7.8% | 8.1% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 33% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 71% | 79% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 17% | 19% |
| What stands out | Ephrata | WA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.8% | 9% |
| More uninsured adults | 12.7% | 8.4% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 7.4% | 5.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Ephrata
About 4 of every 100 Ephrata residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
3 places in Ephrata on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Washington, United States
Ephrata ( ee-FRAY-tə) is a city in and the county seat of Grant County, Washington, United States. Its population was 8,477 at the 2020 census, and was estimated to be 8,718 in 2024.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ephrata grades C overall, better than 27% of U.S. towns and #202 of 285 in Washington. It grades C+ for health, C− for safety and B+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 4.4 years of the area's median household income ($73,267 across the Moses Lake, WA area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
2 notable people were born here, including Ken Dow and Gavin Seim.
