Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,185, settled in 1902. 2.2 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Washington town.
Omak is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, ranked 233rd of 285 in Washington, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is cost of living: homes are within reach, about $263K for a typical one, or 4.2 years of the county’s $63K median household income. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $77K, and 26% of residents live below the poverty line. Omak’s average trip to work is 11 minutes, below both Washington’s towns (27 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). On health, just 20 of Washington’s 397 towns do worse. Omak is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 92% of U.S. towns.
Where Omak beats most towns.
Where Omak’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Omak is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 520 in 1910, 4,860 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 2 maps from 1957 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Omak, 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 Omak.
Omak draws workers from Okanogan and beyond and has property taxes about half the Washington norm, but it has poverty well above the Washington rate.
3,318 jobs are based in Omak, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 11.1 minutes, against 26.6 across Washington.
About one in 3 of Omak’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Omak has added 593 jobs, to 3,318 in 2023. The top destinations are Okanogan (9%), Wenatchee (4%) and Seattle (3%).
| Omak | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 34% | 4.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $77,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Omak School District. Two of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| N Omak ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 403 | – |
| Omak High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 442 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
The median property tax bill is $1,705, against $4,556 across Washington, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Omak’s median rent is $1,002 a month. The typical Omak home is worth about $263,000, about the same as a year ago, 55% below the Washington typical home. 59% of Omak households own their home.
| Omak | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,002 a month | $1,740 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 59% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
18% of adults report frequent physical distress in Omak. Omak beats the Washington average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 22. 25% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Omak.
| Omak | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 11% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 17% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 9.8% | 12% |
| What stands out | Omak | WA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 73.9% | 70.7% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.5% | 5.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 74% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Omak.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Omak has chilly winters and warm summers, with very little rain. The July high in Omak is 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
1.8 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Eastside Park, at 77 acres.
| Omak | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.4% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Eastside Park | — | 77 |
| 2. Oak Street Park | — | 3 |
| 3. Dalton Klessig Park | 0.1 mi | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Omak; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Omak residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
8 notable people were born in Omak.
City in Washington, United States
Omak ( o-MAK) is a city located in the foothills of the Okanogan Highlands in north-central Washington, United States. With a population of 4,860 as of 2020, distributed over a land area of 3.43 square miles (8.9 km2), Omak is the largest municipality of Okanogan County and the largest municipality in Central Washington north of Wenatchee. The Greater Omak Area has around 8,229 inhabitants as of the 2010 census. This makes the largest urban cluster in the Okanogan Country region, encompassing most of its twin city of Okanogan. The land that is now Omak had been inhabited by various Native American tribes before the arrival of non-indigenous settlers in the early 19th century. The city began…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Omak.
Okanogan has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Omak and Okanogan report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Omak with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Omak grades C− overall, better than 18% of U.S. towns and #233 of 285 in Washington. It grades C− for health and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
8 notable people were born here, including Sadie Maubet Bjornsen and Retta Scott.
