Three LakesWA
A town of 4,055, settled in 1903.
Is Three Lakes a good place to live?
For most people who can afford it, yes. Three Lakes grades B overall, 96th of 285 graded towns in Washington. The median household earns $173K and residents are healthier than 84% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $843K for a typical one and 7.3 times the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income. Three Lakes’ average trip to work is 40 minutes, above both the Washington town median (27 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 97% of U.S. towns. Among 285 Washington towns, just 4 have a higher share of households owning their home than Three Lakes.
What makes Three Lakes stand out
Where Three Lakes beats most towns.
Three Lakes has grown 24% from 2010 to 2020
3,184 counted in 2010 and 3,941 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Three Lakes grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Three Lakes is from typical.
Its grades run from A for jobs and income (better than 88% of comparable towns) to D− for walkability (better than 3%), so the B overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Three Lakes: who provides what
Three Lakes is unincorporated, so Snohomish County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Three Lakes.
Three Lakes has fewer 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and sends most of its workers to Seattle and beyond, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Washington.
Three Lakes earns an A− for health
Against the 1,597 U.S. towns with household incomes like Three Lakes’s, it is less healthy than 80%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
73% of adults had a checkup this year in Three Lakes. Three Lakes beats the Washington average on 7 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 17% of adults get no exercise outside work in Three Lakes.
| Three Lakes | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 71% | 79% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 18% | 25% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 26% | 23% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 7.4% | 10% | 14% |
| What stands out | Three Lakes | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.4% | 10.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.3% | 9.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.2% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents commute out of Three Lakes
Three Lakes has 195 jobs for its 1,735 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 40.1 minutes, against 26.6 across Washington.
Most working residents leave Three Lakes for work: only 1% work in town. Since 2013, Three Lakes has added 64 jobs, to 195 in 2023. 18% of Three Lakes workers work from home.
| Three Lakes | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $173,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 18% | 15% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.5% | 5% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 6.3% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Three Lakes faces a high natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 72% of U.S. communities. Since 1984, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Three Lakes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Three Lakes has mild winters and pleasant summers
The Monroe weather station, 6 miles away, records that about 2 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 96% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 73.6°, cooler than in 99% of U.S. towns; January nights average 35°.
Three Lakes has mild winters and cool summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Three Lakes is 74°F. About 3 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Three Lakes | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 74°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 35°F | 35°F | 22°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
3.2% of Three Lakes is conserved land
4.7 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Flowing Lake Park, at 44 acres.
| Three Lakes | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.2% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Flowing Lake Park | 0.7 mi | 44 |
| 2. Flowing Lake Public Access | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
More middle-aged adults than Washington overall
The median household earns $172,879, against $98,141 across Washington, one input to its A for jobs and income.
Adults 35 to 64 are 43% of residents (38% statewide). 41% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 40% across Washington. Three Lakes’ median age is 41.9 years.
| Three Lakes | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 41% | 30% | 29% |
| Median age | 41.9 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 16% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 22% | 22% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.9 points. Across Washington, 49.6% of residents are women.
| Three Lakes | WA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.5% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.8% | 9.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.1% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.5% | 15.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.9% | 14.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.3% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.5% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.9% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.6% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.6% | 7.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20% | 21.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 19% | 21% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.6% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 31.8% | 24% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9% | 15.6% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,100, single groups can be off by several points
Homes in Three Lakes sell for about $995K
At 7.3 years of the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income, the typical home costs more against local pay than in 78% of Washington towns; that ratio is one input to its C− for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $7,103, against $4,556 across Washington, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Space Needle and 121 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Three Lakes. Close and well known come first.
Big draw28 mi LookoutSpace Needle
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaClimate Pledge Arena
Big draw29 mi Stadium & arenaLumen Field
29 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile Park
28 mi Ancient siteSeattle Underground
25 mi Stadium & arenaHusky StadiumPhoto credits
Space Needle: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Climate Pledge Arena: Sea Cow, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lumen Field: "Smart Destinations", GoSeattleCard.com, and Go Seattle Card Blog, CC BY-SA 2.0 · T-Mobile Park: MyName (Cacophony), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Seattle Underground: Mark Hursh, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Husky Stadium: Atomic Taco, CC BY-SA 2.0
Everything we know about Three Lakes
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Three Lakes
About 2 of every 100 Three Lakes residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
99% of working residents leave Three Lakes for work
Where Three Lakes’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Three Lakes
CDP in Washington, United States
Three Lakes is a census-designated place (CDP) in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 3,941 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 12 sq mi
- Elevation
- 486 ft
- Area code
- 360
Three Lakes’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Three Lakes.
| Town | WA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Three Lakes | #96 | B | C− | — | A− | A− |
| Chain Lake | #34 | A− | C | — | A− | A |
Three Lakes and Chain Lake report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Three Lakes with a neighbor →
Questions about Three Lakes
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Three Lakes, WA a good place to live?
For most people who can afford it, yes. Three Lakes grades B overall, better than 58% of U.S. towns and #96 of 285 in Washington. It grades A− for health and A− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Three Lakes, WA expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $843,000, 43% above the Washington typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.