Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,753, settled in 1930.
The best of Rock Island’s subject grades are a B+ for schools and the outdoors; the weakest is a D for hazard risk. Rock Island’s trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile, above both Washington’s towns (0.8) and U.S. towns (0.4). Rock Island Railroad Bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places. Rock Island has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Rock Island’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 Rock Island is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 377 in 1940, a low of 191 in 1970, 1,279 in 2020. The archive holds 10 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and 2 maps from 1912 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rock Island, 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 Rock Island.
Its one school is below. Enrollment at Rock Island’s public school: 288 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Island ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 288 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
In Rock Island, the FEMA risk score is 85 of 100. Expected losses in Rock Island break down as 76% from inland flooding and 10% from wildfires.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Since 2013, Rock Island has added 38 jobs, to 109 in 2023. Rock Island’s average trip to work stands at 24 minutes, below the Washington town median (27 minutes) and near the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). The median household income in the town is $70,000. The top destinations are Wenatchee (35%), East Wenatchee (11%) and Yakima (2%).
| Rock Island | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $70,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.7% | 4.9% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 10% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home gained 6.6% in value. In Rock Island, 83% of households own their home. For Rock Island, the midpoint rent is $1,143 a month.
| Rock Island | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 83% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,143 a month | $1,739 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The range runs from 24° on a January night to 88° on a July afternoon, with about 17 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
15% of Rock Island adults worry about having enough food. CDC measures, 31 in all: Rock Island beats Washington on 3 and trails on 10. Two figures for adults in the town: 29% sleep under 7 hours, 29% have high blood pressure.
| Rock Island | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 69% | 71% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 7.8% | 8.1% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 33% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 31% | 35% |
| What stands out | Rock Island | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.4% | 7.9% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 21.6% | 24.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 16.1% | 8.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1.9 miles of trail wind through 1 park or preserve. Parks and preserves in Rock Island: one, of 2 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Schooler Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Rock Island. Close and well known come first.
20 mi TheatreThe Gorge Amphitheatre
33 mi LakeLake Chelan
30 mi State parkGinkgo Petrified Forest State Park14 mi Ski areaMission Ridge54 runs · 2,181 ft vertical
9 mi MuseumWenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural CenterThe Gorge Amphitheatre: Daniel from Calgary, Canada, CC BY 2.0 · Lake Chelan: David Ansley, CC BY 2.5 · Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park: No machine-readable author provided. Justinleif~commonswiki assumed (based on co, Public domain · Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center: Craderleav at English Wikipedia, Public domain
1 within 15 miles of the center of Rock Island
About 3 of every 100 Rock Island residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
City in Washington, United States
Rock Island is a city in Douglas County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Wenatchee–East Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,279 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.
That is 5.4 years of the area's median household income ($81,938 across the Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
