Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For a city of 230,783, Spokane does unevenly: it grades C, ranked 197th of 285 in Washington. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 96% of U.S. towns. The trade-offs: its crime rate is higher than 97% of U.S. towns, with 1,403 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, and the typical home is worth about $393K, 5.1 years of the Spokane metro’s $77K median household income. 52% of working residents work locally in Spokane, above both the Washington town median (4.8%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). On hazard risk, just 13 of Washington’s 397 towns do better. Its National Register listings include Natatorium Carousel and Hutton Building.
Where Spokane beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Glover House| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Gonzaga University | 6,715 |
| Spokane Community College | 4,435 |
| Spokane Falls Community College | 2,417 |
Its 131 National Register listings are more than in 99% of Washington towns with a listing.
Census counts: 350 in 1880, 228,989 in 2020. The archive holds 36 old photos and papers going back to 1885 and 4 maps from 1950 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Spokane is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for hazard risk (better than 96% of comparable towns) to D− for safety (better than 3%), so the C overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Spokane, 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 Spokane.
Spokane carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Washington (mostly inland flooding) and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports violent crime at about twice the Washington rate.
124 miles of trail in 91 parks and preserves. Spokane’s trail density is 1.8 miles per square mile. Hangman Park, at 311 acres with 10.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. High Drive Conservation Area | 11.1 mi | 274 |
| 2. Hangman Park | 10.4 mi | 311 |
| 3. Downriver Park | 3.9 mi | 130 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Spokane School District. Two of its 90 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sacajawea Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 855 | – |
| Lewis & Clark High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,673 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
Violent crime runs at 6.1 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Washington rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Property crime runs at 43.4 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Washington rate, most of it theft.
The violent crime rate in Spokane is 6.1 per 1,000 residents. Only 5 of the 132 Washington towns we compare have a higher property crime rate than Spokane. Spokane reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 97% report less.
| Spokane | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 43.4 per 1,000 residents | 15 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.1 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 95% of Washington towns, with expected losses of about $148 per resident a year; that rating is what its A+ for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1990, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Spokane.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
59% of households own their home in Spokane. The typical Spokane home is worth about $393,000, about the same as a year ago, 33% below the Washington typical home.
| Spokane | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,215 a month | $1,740 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 53% | 51% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
January nights average 24.7°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 81% of Washington places with climate records; July afternoons average 86.1°.
Spokane has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with very little rain. About 45 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Spokane | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 86°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 25°F | 35°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 10,507 U.S. towns with household incomes like Spokane’s, it is healthier than 79%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income. Within Washington it is less healthy than 69% of the 285 graded towns: Washington sets a high bar.
Spokane beats the Washington average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 72% of Spokane adults had a checkup this year.
| Spokane | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 71% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 26% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 31% | 35% |
| What stands out | Spokane | WA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.7% | 5.1% |
| More smokers | 12.7% | 10.1% |
| More adults with COPD | 6.3% | 5.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The average commute for its 95,256 working residents takes 20.6 minutes, against 26.6 across Washington.
Since 2013, Spokane has added 11,468 jobs, to 122,348 in 2023. The top destinations are Spokane Valley (15%), Seattle (3%) and Airway Heights (2%). Half commute less than 5 miles.
| Spokane | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 15% | 15% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Washington average. 34% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 40% across Washington.
| Spokane | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 37.2 years | 38.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 20% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 30% | 29% |
49.9% women, 50.1% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±0.6 points. Across Washington, 49.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 38.1, men 36.4.
| Spokane | WA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.2% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.1% | 9.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.3% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 17.2% | 15.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.9% | 14.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.2% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.3% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.1% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.5% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 6% | 7.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.6% | 21.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.2% | 21% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.3% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.1% | 24% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.7% | 15.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Spokane. Close and well known come first.
in town Stadium & arenaNumerica Veterans Arena
in town Theme parkRiverfront Park
30 mi LakeCoeur D'Alene Lake
38 mi Theme parkSilverwood Theme Park
in town GardenManito Park and Botanical Gardens
in town TheatreBing Crosby TheaterNumerica Veterans Arena: Jdubman at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Riverfront Park: en:User:Sundodger, Public domain · Coeur D'Alene Lake: The original uploader was Jamidwyer at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · Silverwood Theme Park: nicanicasather, CC BY 2.0 · Manito Park and Botanical Gardens: Jdubman at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bing Crosby Theater: Murderbike, Public domain
7 within 15 miles of the center of Spokane
About 7 of every 100 Spokane residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Washington.
4 colleges in town.
131 places in Spokane on the National Register of Historic Places.
37 notable people were born in Spokane.
City in Washington State
Spokane ( spoh-KAN; Spokane: sƛ̓x̌etkʷ) is a city in and the county seat of Spokane County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, 110 miles (180 km) south of the Canadian border, twenty miles (30 km) west of the Idaho state line, 279 miles (449 km) southwest of Calgary, and 280 miles (450 km) east of Seattle, via I-90. Spokane is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the second-most populous city in all of Washington (after Seattle), with a population of 228,989 at the 2020 census, while the Spokane metropolitan area has an estimated 605,000 residents. Spokane is the economic an…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Spokane.
| Town | WA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spokane | #197 | C | C− | D− | B | B |
| Airway Heights | #254 | D | C− | D | B | C+ |
| Town and Country | #35 | A− | C− | — | B+ | A− |
| Country Homes | #43 | B+ | D | — | A | A− |
| Spokane Valley | #184 | C | D | D | B+ | B |
Town and Country and Country Homes report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Spokane with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Spokane grades C overall, better than 29% of U.S. towns and #197 of 285 in Washington. It grades B for health, D− for safety and B for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
37 notable people were born here, including Sydney Sweeney and John Stockton.
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