Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
3.1 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Washington town.
Palouse’s best subject grades are an A for schools, an A− for health, and an A+ for civic life; its weakest is a C− for walkability. Only 34 of Washington’s 396 towns score lower on walkability. On history, just 3 of Washington’s 397 towns do better. Palouse has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Palouse beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Palouse Elementary | PK–5 | 100 |
| Palouse at Garfield Middle School | 6–8 | 34 |
| Palouse High School | 9–12 | 57 |
Holy Trinity Episcopal ChurchIn 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 Palouse is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 148 in 1880, a peak of 1,549 in 1910, 1,015 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 3 maps from 1910 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Palouse, 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 Palouse.
Its public schools are run by the Palouse School District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palouse ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 100 | – |
| Palouse High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 57 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
Palouse beats the Washington average on 13 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 27% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Palouse, against 33% in Washington’s towns and 36% across U.S. towns. 16% of adults get no exercise outside work in Palouse.
| Palouse | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 33% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 5.5% | 10% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 71% | 79% |
| What stands out | Palouse | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.5% | 10.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.6% | 8.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.9% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Palouse home is worth about $359,000, up 4.5% in a year, 39% below the Washington typical home. At $933 a month, Palouse’s median rent is below both the Washington town median ($1,739 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). 85% of Palouse households own their home.
| Palouse | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $933 a month | $1,739 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 85% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Most working residents leave Palouse for work: only 5% work in town. Jobs based in Palouse grew to 139 in 2023, 28 more than in 2013. The average trip to work in Palouse is 28 minutes.
| Palouse | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3.1% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $89,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.5% | 4.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Palouse has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. Palouse’s July high is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 18 to 34 are 16% of residents (24% statewide); children under 18 are 26% of residents (21% statewide). 45% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 40% across Washington.
| Palouse | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 45% | 30% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 26% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 15% | 16% | 18% |
| Median age | 40.7 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.3 points. Across Washington, 49.6% of residents are women.
| Palouse | WA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 18.7% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.1% | 9.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.6% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.8% | 15.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.3% | 14.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.3% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.1% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.2% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.4% | 7.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 17.5% | 21.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.1% | 21% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.9% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.4% | 24% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 20.7% | 15.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,000, single groups can be off by several points
Of the 138 Washington towns we compare, none has a lower property crime rate than Palouse. Palouse's reported crime rate is well below Washington's. Among 138 Washington towns, just 2 have a lower violent crime rate than Palouse.
| Palouse | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 19.3 | 11.5 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 1.9 | 1.7 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Palouse.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Palouse | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.9% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hayton Green Park | 0.1 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
3 within 15 miles of the center of Palouse
About 7 of every 100 Palouse residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Washington.
Where Palouse’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 notable people were born in Palouse.
City in Washington, United States
Palouse is a city in Whitman County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,015 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
3.1 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Washington town.
That is 6.5 years of the area's median household income ($55,406 across the Pullman, WA area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
3 notable people were born here, including Donald W. Meinig and Mouse Davis.