Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Pasco grades D overall, ranked 255th of 285 in Washington, mostly because of schools and safety. Its public schools trail 84% of Washington towns on state tests and graduation. Its police reported 275 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 77% of U.S. towns. In its favor, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 72% of U.S. towns. Pasco’s July high is 90°F, where Washington’s towns sit at 77°F and U.S. towns at 85°F. Pasco is home to Columbia Basin College.
Where Pasco beats most towns.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Columbia Basin College | 4,656 |
Franklin County Courthouse59,781 counted in 2010 and 77,108 in 2020; an estimated 82,848 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 7.1% since 2020, after 29% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Pasco is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 320 in 1890, 77,108 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and 3 maps from 1964 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pasco, 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 Pasco.
Pasco fares better on crime within Washington than nationally and has added a third more jobs in ten years.
Its public schools are run by the Pasco School District. Two of its 37 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ray Reynolds Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,294 | – |
| Chiawana Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 8–12 | Grades 8–12 | 3,127 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
At 33 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 62% of Washington’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 1,987 to 1,624 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Pasco is 3.3 per 1,000 residents. Pasco reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 77% report less. The property crime rate in Pasco is 16.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Pasco | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.3 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.3 per 1,000 residents | 15 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Jobs based here grew from 18,425 in 2013 to 24,570.
About one in 4 of Pasco’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Pasco has added 6,145 jobs, to 24,570 in 2023. Pasco’s average trip to work is 23 minutes.
| Pasco | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 24% | 4.8% | 8% |
| Work from home | 7.7% | 15% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Pasco home is worth about $417,000, about the same as a year ago, 29% below the Washington typical home.
| Pasco | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,227 a month | $1,740 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 70% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 71% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Pasco has mild winters and warm summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 29° and about 2 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
19 miles of trail in 31 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Chiawana Park, at 93 acres.
| Pasco | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.5% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Kurtzman Park | 0.4 mi | 8 |
| 2. Riverview Park | 0.3 mi | 35 |
| 3. Volunteer Park | 0.3 mi | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Pasco beats the Washington average on 5 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 22% of Pasco adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
| Pasco | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 7.8% | 8.1% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 68% | 71% | 79% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 17% | 19% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 10% | 14% |
| What stands out | Pasco | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.4% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 19.8% | 24.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 21.7% | 8.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Pasco
About 5 of every 100 Pasco residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Washington.
6 places in Pasco on the National Register of Historic Places.
16 notable people were born in Pasco.
City in Washington, United States
Pasco ( PAS-koh) is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Washington, United States. The population was 77,108 at the 2020 census, and estimated at 81,724 in 2024. Pasco is one of three cities (the others being Kennewick and Richland) that make up Washington state's Tri-Cities region, a mid-sized metropolitan area of approximately 303,622 people.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Pasco.
| Town | WA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pasco | #255 | D | C+ | C− | C− | B− |
| Kennewick | #228 | C− | C+ | D | C+ | B |
| Richland | #109 | B− | C | C | A− | A |
| Finley | #176 | C | B | — | C+ | B |
| West Pasco | — | — | C | — | C− | B+ |
| Burbank | #263 | D | C | — | C | C+ |
West Pasco has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Finley, West Pasco and Burbank report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Pasco with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Pasco grades D overall, better than 12% of U.S. towns and #255 of 285 in Washington. It grades B− for health, C− for safety and C− for schools. Schools 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 C+.
16 notable people were born here, including Chuck Palahniuk and Brian Urlacher.
