Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Today 4,964 people live in this town, first settled in 1880.
Few weak spots anywhere. Schools are where it shines (A): its schools rank ahead of 86% of Washington towns. With an A+ overall, Medical Lake is better than 97% of U.S. towns. The ranking puts it 2nd of 285 in Washington. It also does well on walkability (A): it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 90% of U.S. towns. A typical home there costs about $423K, 5.5 years of the Spokane metro’s $77K median household income. The biggest park or preserve is Medical Lake Waterfront Park, at 44 acres. On hazard risk, just 18 of Washington’s 397 towns do better.
Figures: schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenStreetMap.
Where Medical Lake beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Hallett Elementary School | PK–5 | 496 |
| Medical Lake Middle School | 6–8 | 381 |
| Medical Lake High School | 9–12 | 506 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Medical Lake is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 617 in 1890, 4,874 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 4 maps from 1943 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Medical Lake, 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 Medical Lake.
Medical Lake 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 trades workers with Spokane and other neighbors.
Two of its 4 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. Its public schools are run by the Medical Lake School District. The largest public high school is Medical Lake High School, with 506 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hallett Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 496 | – |
| Medical Lake High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 506 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 94% of Washington towns; that rating is what its A for hazard risk is built on.
Federal aid has come to Medical Lake households in 2 declared disasters; the latest was in 2023. Its risk rating from FEMA stands at 14 of 100, below both the Washington town median (69 of 100) and the median of U.S. towns (44 of 100). FEMA puts 48% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 22% to wildfires.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Trails total 3.3 miles in 5 parks and preserves. Medical Lake’s trail network density stands at 0.9 miles per square mile, close to Washington’s towns (0.8) and above U.S. towns (0.4).
| Medical Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.2% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Medical Lake Waterfront Park | 0.6 mi | 44 |
| 2. West Medical Lake Public Access | — | 4 |
| 3. Pioneer Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
9.5% of Medical Lake adults have diabetes. In Medical Lake, 18% of adults binge drink, and 18% get no exercise outside work.
| Medical Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 71% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 25% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 31% | 35% |
| What stands out | Medical Lake | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.5% | 8.4% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 8.8% | 10.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Medical Lake grades A+ overall with a typical home of about $423K, below the Washington typical value; only 3 of the 20 Washington towns graded A− or better can say that.
Homes sold in Medical Lake spent a median 39 days on the market. Zillow values the typical Medical Lake home at about $423,000, up 1.3% in a year, 28% below the Washington typical home. Among households here, 66% are owner-occupiers.
| Medical Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $785 a month | $1,740 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
July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 24° and about 45 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Medical Lake has about as many jobs (1,970) as working residents, but only 222 people both live and work here.
The top destinations are Spokane (32%), Spokane Valley (9%) and Airway Heights (6%). For most workers, Medical Lake is a place to come home to: only 13% work in town. The town’s mean commuting time stands at 21 minutes. Jobs in Medical Lake grew by 153 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 1,970.
| Medical Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 4.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $80,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Children under 18 are 16% of residents (21% statewide). The midpoint age for Medical Lake comes to 41.1 years.
| Medical Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 16% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 41.1 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 33% | 30% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 16% | 18% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.9 points. Across Washington, 49.6% of residents are women.
| Medical Lake | WA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.1% | 9.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.9% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 21.1% | 15.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.4% | 14.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.1% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 14.6% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.8% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.6% | 7.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.3% | 21.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 26.5% | 21% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.4% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 28% | 24% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 5.3% | 15.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 5,000, single groups can be off by several points
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Medical Lake. Close and well known come first.
14 mi Stadium & arenaNumerica Veterans Arena
14 mi Theme parkRiverfront Park
14 mi GardenManito Park and Botanical Gardens37 mi Ski areaMt. Spokane61 runs · 1,974 ft vertical
21 mi National Recreation AreaLake Roosevelt National Recreation Area1.2M visitors a year
13 mi MuseumNorthwest Museum of Arts and CultureNumerica Veterans Arena: Jdubman at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Riverfront Park: en:User:Sundodger, Public domain · Manito Park and Botanical Gardens: Jdubman at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area: Karyn Christner, CC BY 2.0 · Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture: Murderbike, Public domain
3 within 15 miles of the center of Medical Lake
About 4 of every 100 Medical Lake residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
2 places in Medical Lake on the National Register of Historic Places.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Medical Lake grades A+ overall, better than 97% of U.S. towns and #2 of 285 in Washington. It grades A− for health and A for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
