GenevaWA
A town settled in 1888, now home to 2,073 people.
Is Geneva a good place to live?
The best of Geneva’s subject grades is an A+ for health; the weakest is a D− for cost of living. 31% of residents are 65 or older in Geneva, above both the Washington town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). On cost of living, just 27 of Washington’s 395 towns do worse. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 70% of U.S. towns. Geneva’s trail network density is 1.3 miles per square mile, against 0.8 in Washington’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Geneva has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Geneva stand out
Where Geneva beats most towns.
Geneva has grown 14% from 2010 to 2020
2,321 counted in 2010 and 2,652 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Geneva grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Geneva is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Geneva: who provides what
Geneva is unincorporated, so Whatcom 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Geneva.
Compared with most of Washington and the rest of the country, fewer of Geneva’s adults sleep under 7 hours
The share of adults in Geneva who have been diagnosed with depression: 28%. On the CDC’s 31 measures, Geneva is ahead of Washington on 15 and behind on 2. A quarter of adults in the town have obesity; 13% get no exercise outside work.
| Geneva | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 33% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 33% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 18% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.2% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Geneva | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.7% | 8.4% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.3% | 10.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.9% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Geneva’s public schools outperform 66% of Washington districts
One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. Its public schools are run by the Bellingham School District. Also worth knowing: 412 students attend Geneva’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geneva Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 412 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
Fewer of Geneva’s residents live below the poverty line than in the typical Washington or U.S. town
Geneva’s average trip to work comes in at 23 minutes. Jobs based in Geneva grew to 146 in 2023, 39 more than in 2013. In Geneva, 1.9% of working residents work locally. The top destinations are Bellingham (51%), Seattle (5%) and Mount Vernon (3%).
| Geneva | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $142,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 1.8% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.9% | 4.9% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Geneva has a high natural-hazard risk, chiefly from inland flooding
Of the losses FEMA expects in Geneva, 70% come from inland flooding and 18% from earthquakes. On expected storm and flood damage, Geneva sits above three quarters of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Conserved land covers 2.3% of Geneva
There are 2.1 miles of trail across 2 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Euclid Park | 0.6 mi | 16 |
| 2. Ted Edwards Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Homes in Geneva sell for about $949K
For households in Geneva, the share who live in a home they own is 92%.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Mount Baker and 14 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Geneva. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi MountainMount Baker
35 mi National ParkNorth Cascades National Park47K visitors a year
24 mi LandmarkPeace Arch35 mi Ski areaMt Baker47 runs · 1,475 ft vertical
3 mi TheatreMount Baker Theatre
4 mi MuseumWhatcom Museum of History and ArtPhoto credits
Mount Baker: Walter Siegmund (talk), CC BY 2.5 · North Cascades National Park: Daniel Hershman, CC BY 2.0 · Peace Arch: Arnold C (User:Buchanan-Hermit), Attribution · Mount Baker Theatre: Benjamin Cody, Public domain · Whatcom Museum of History and Art: Benjamin Cody, Public domain
Everything we know about Geneva
Colleges nearby
4 within 15 miles of the center of Geneva
About 2 of every 100 Geneva residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
98% of working residents leave Geneva for work
Where Geneva’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Geneva
CDP in Washington, United States
Geneva is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. The population was 2,652 at the 2020 census. Based on per capita income, Geneva ranks 85th of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked. It is also the highest rank achieved in Whatcom County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.3 sq mi
- Elevation
- 446 ft
- Area code
- 360
Geneva’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Geneva.
| Town | WA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geneva | — | — | D− | — | B+ | A+ |
| Sudden Valley | #169 | C+ | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| Bellingham | #225 | C− | D− | D | B+ | A− |
Geneva has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Geneva and Sudden Valley report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Geneva with a neighbor →
Questions about Geneva
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Geneva, WA expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $801,000, 36% 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−.