Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,112, settled in 1851. 2 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Washington town.
Ilwaco’s best subject grades are an A for walkability and an A+ for civic life; its weakest is a D for hazard risk. Ilwaco’s July high is 66°F, below both the Washington town median (77°F) and the median of U.S. towns (85°F). Only 34 of Washington’s 397 towns score lower on hazard risk. On history, just 29 of Washington’s 397 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, at 82 acres. On civic life, just 17 of Washington’s 198 towns do better. Ilwaco has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Ilwaco beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Ilwaco is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 85 in 1880, a low of 85 in 1880, 1,087 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 4 maps from 1938 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ilwaco, 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 Ilwaco.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 87% of U.S. communities. Since 1997, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ilwaco.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Ocean Beach School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hilltop Elementary SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 188 | – |
| Ilwaco High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 297 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
The typical Ilwaco home is worth about $398,000, up 0.8% in a year, 32% below the Washington typical home. At $1,170 a month, Ilwaco’s median rent is where Washington’s towns sit at $1,739 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month.
| Ilwaco | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,170 a month | $1,739 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 66% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
People 65 and older are 26% of residents (17% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 33% of residents (38% statewide). Ilwaco’s median age is 48.9 years. Ilwaco has grown 2.3% since 2020, to 1,112 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Ilwaco | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 48.9 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 26% | 16% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 17% | 22% | 22% |
44% women, 56% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±9 points. Across Washington, 49.6% of residents are women.
| Ilwaco | WA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.8% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.5% | 9.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.9% | 15.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 6.9% | 14.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.7% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.2% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.6% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11.4% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.9% | 7.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20.5% | 21.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 30.6% | 21% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.7% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.9% | 24% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.4% | 15.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,100, single groups can be off by several points
Ilwaco has mild winters and cool summers, with plenty of rain. The January low in Ilwaco is 37°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Ilwaco for work: only 7% work in town. Jobs based in Ilwaco grew to 506 in 2023, 54 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Long Beach (12%), Astoria (5%) and Seattle (5%).
| Ilwaco | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $98,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Among 138 Washington towns, just 2 have a lower violent crime rate than Ilwaco. Ilwaco's reported crime rate is well below Washington's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Ilwaco | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2022) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 2.2 | 1.9 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2022) | 13.3 per 1,000 residents | 28.2 | 14.1 |
FBI crime data, 2022 · crimes reported to police
Ilwaco beats the Washington average on 3 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 14. 39% of adults have high blood pressure in Ilwaco.
| Ilwaco | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 31% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 9.8% | 12% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 71% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Ilwaco | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.6% | 9.9% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 77.4% | 70.7% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.7% | 5.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Ilwaco | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.3% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lewis and Clark National Historical Park | — | 82 |
| 2. Cape Disappointment State Park | — | 82 |
| 3. Seashore Conservation Area | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ilwaco. Close and well known come first.
8 mi LandmarkFort Stevens
2 mi State parkCape Disappointment State Park
14 mi LandmarkFort Clatsop
in town National Historical ParkLewis and Clark National Historical Park244K visitors a year
26 mi LighthouseTillamook Rock Light
14 mi LandmarkAstoria ColumnFort Stevens: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives, Attribution · Cape Disappointment State Park: Adbar, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Clatsop: Glenn Scofield Williams from USA, CC BY 2.0 · Lewis and Clark National Historical Park: National Park Service Digital Image Archives, Public domain · Tillamook Rock Light: Jwyoung, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Astoria Column: The original uploader was Decumanus at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Ilwaco
About 7 of every 100 Ilwaco residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Washington.
City in Washington, United States
Ilwaco ( il-WAH-koh) is a city in Pacific County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,087 at the 2020 census. Founded in 1890, the city was home to the Ilwaco Railway and Navigation Company along the Long Beach Peninsula, with its core economy based on logging and timber rafting. The city is located on the southern edge of the Long Beach Peninsula, on Baker Bay on the north side of the Columbia River where it meets the Pacific Ocean. It is near the city of Astoria, Oregon, which lies to the southeast on the southern bank of the Columbia.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
2 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Washington town.
That is 5.9 years of the area's median household income ($67,081 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
_(clatDA0106a).jpg){kind=link}
