Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,729, settled in 1845. 3.1 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Washington town.
Trash day: look up yoursFor most people who can afford it, yes. Friday Harbor grades B overall, 97th of 285 graded towns in Washington. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 92% of U.S. towns. Residents are healthier than 82% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and its schools rank ahead of 77% of Washington towns. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $888K for a typical one and 10.5 times the county’s $85K median household income. Friday Harbor’s average trip to work is 10 minutes, below both Washington’s towns (27 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Friday Harbor's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 100% of U.S. towns. On history, just 23 of Washington’s 397 towns do better.
Where Friday Harbor beats most towns.
2,162 counted in 2010 and 2,613 in 2020; an estimated 2,729 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 Friday Harbor is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Its founding year, 1845, comes before those of 98% of the Washington towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 400 in 1910, 2,613 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1892 and 3 maps from 1954 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Friday Harbor, 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 Friday Harbor.
Friday Harbor keeps more of its land conserved than most of Washington and has cooler summers than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Washington.
Its 600 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in any other Washington town.
1.5 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is John O. Linde Community Park, at 28 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. John O. Linde Community Park | 0.2 mi | 28 |
| 2. Mount Grant Preserve | — | 4 |
| 3. Friday Harbor Laboratories Biological Preserve | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the San Juan Island School District. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday Harbor Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 329 | – |
| Friday Harbor High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 255 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
At 10.5 years of the county’s $85K median household income, the typical home (about $888K) costs more against local pay than in 96% of Washington towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. The typical value, about $888K, is 11% below its July 2022 peak.
59% of households own their home in Friday Harbor. The typical Friday Harbor home is worth about $888,000, up 1.3% in a year, 51% above the Washington typical home. The median rent in Friday Harbor is $1,696 a month.
| Friday Harbor | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,696 a month | $1,740 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
68% of Friday Harbor adults had a checkup this year. Friday Harbor beats the Washington average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 27% of Friday Harbor adults have obesity.
| Friday Harbor | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 68% | 71% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 33% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 33% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 18% | 25% |
| What stands out | Friday Harbor | WA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.3% | 5.1% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 8.6% | 7.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.3% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons average 71.9°, cooler than in 99% of U.S. towns; January nights average 36.7°.
Friday Harbor has mild winters and cool summers. Friday Harbor’s July high is 72°F. Only 7 of the 285 Washington towns we compare have a higher January low than Friday Harbor.
| Friday Harbor | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 72°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 37°F | 35°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 1,192 working residents takes 9.9 minutes, against 26.6 across Washington.
Only 8 of the 285 Washington towns we compare have a higher share of working residents who work in town than Friday Harbor. The top destinations are Seattle (6%), Bellingham (5%) and Roche Harbor (2%).
| Friday Harbor | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 45% | 4.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $80,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 13% | 15% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Washington average. Friday Harbor has grown 4.4% since 2020, to 2,729 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 35% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 40% across Washington.
| Friday Harbor | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 42.6 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 30% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 16% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 22% | 22% |
56% women, 44% men
About 80 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.9 points). Across Washington, 49.6% of residents are women.
| Friday Harbor | WA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.4% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.8% | 9.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.4% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.9% | 15.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.5% | 14.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.7% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.5% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.7% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.9% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6.5% | 7.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24.1% | 21.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.7% | 21% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.3% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.6% | 24% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 15.8% | 15.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,700, single groups can be off by several points
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 53% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Friday Harbor; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Friday Harbor residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
41.9% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
3 places in Friday Harbor on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Washington, United States
Friday Harbor is a town in San Juan County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,613 at the 2020 census. Located on San Juan Island, Friday Harbor is the major commercial center of the San Juan Islands archipelago and is the county seat of San Juan County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Friday Harbor grades B overall, better than 58% of U.S. towns and #97 of 285 in Washington. It grades A− for health and A− for schools. Cost of living 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 D.
