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Place dossier plate
SheetWA-COULEE-DAM-WA · Coulee Dam, WA 1,457 pop · income 47th pct · 3 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Coulee Dam
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Coulee Dam on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Pierson · lowest
47,652
Pierson · lowest
47,652 median HH income
24.4% of the leader · rank #1
Coulee Dam · this city
67,868
Coulee Dam · this city
67,868 median HH income
34.8% of the leader · rank #2
Hauser · near
67,868
Hauser · near
67,868 median HH income
34.8% of the leader · rank #3
Remington · near
67,870
Remington · near
67,870 median HH income
34.8% of the leader · rank #4
Summerside · near
67,870
Summerside · near
67,870 median HH income
34.8% of the leader · rank #5
Lovejoy · near
67,872
Lovejoy · near
67,872 median HH income
34.8% of the leader · rank #6
Lake Marcel-S… · highest
195,063
Lake Marcel-S… · highest
195,063 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Coulee Dam on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 1,457.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Coulee Dam - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Coulee Dam lands in the 47th percentile for household income and the 26th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
47th
percentile, household income
46th
percentile, home value
70th
percentile, median rent
26th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Coulee Dam, WA
1,457 people live in Coulee Dam, Washington - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Coulee Dam report a median income of $67,868 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 8.0%. Home values in Coulee Dam run a median of $212,900, and the median resident age is 42.0 years. Educational attainment runs 31.9% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 55.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 0 residential units were authorized in 2024 (No Permits). Crime here tracks close to the national norm: FBI UCR figures show 2283.8 crimes per 100,000 residents, near the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score). The annual average temperature per NOAA climate normals runs 49.9°F with 11.1 inches of precipitation per year.
Washington carries a cost-of-living premium: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Washington scores 107.0 (Above Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,472 monthly. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Washington's average monthly utility costs around $188 (state average). Workers in Coulee Dam report an average commute of 14.1 minutes, with 79.5% driving alone and 5.1% working from home. Natural-hazard exposure scores 70.0 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Coulee Dam's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to reported crime to climate and hazard context to population change to within-city variation to work and mobility to schools and households to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Coulee Dam, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, local building permits, within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history, commute-mode shares.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Coulee Dam?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Washington, the closest population matches are Lake Marcel-Stillwater (1,463 residents, $195,063 income); Dallesport (1,434 residents, $67,500 income); Pomeroy (1,423 residents, $50,197 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are West Yellowstone, MT (1,457 residents); Bridgeport, OH (1,457 residents); Brooklyn, WI (1,457 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Coulee Dam?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2283.8 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, near the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 0% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
What physical conditions frame life in Coulee Dam?
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 49.9°F, with 11.1 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Washington is 70.0 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
What can 3 Census tracts reveal inside Coulee Dam?
PlainCities matches 3 Census tracts to this city.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Population change
Is Coulee Dam growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +28 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +2.3% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
2020 estimate
1,213
2025 estimate
1,241
Period change
+2.3%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
What does the journey to work look like in Coulee Dam?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 79.5%. The reported mean trip to work is 14.1 minutes.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Drive alone
79.5%
Work from home
5.1%
Public transit
0.0%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 688 workers age 16+.
What does the education layer cover for Coulee Dam?
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
The NCES join finds 1 public school within the city match. 31.9% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Poverty estimate
8.0%
Bachelor's degree+
31.9%
Matched public schools
1
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
How far does income reach against housing in Coulee Dam?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 8.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
3.1×
Home value
$212,900
Household income
$67,868
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Below median income · poverty 8.0% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
107.0 (US=100)
High cost · BEA RPP 2024, Washington average
C-
City profile score · Coulee Dam, WA
53/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Violent crime A+
0 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share C+
31.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate D
8.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income D
$67,868
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Cost of living F
107.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Coulee Dam profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 97/100 (A+) · 0 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 61/100 (C+) · 31.9%
Poverty rate: 48/100 (D) · 8.0%
Household income: 46/100 (D) · $67,868
Cost of living: 15/100 (F) · 107.0 index
Where Coulee Dam sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Coulee Dam's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Coulee Dam highlighted among 25 peers.Read the chart values
Coulee Dam, WA (this city): home $212,900, crime 2,284/100k
West Yellowstone, MT : home $402,600, crime 746/100k
Redfield, AR : home $145,500, crime 1,614/100k
Ponderay, ID : home $391,700, crime 491/100k
Darrington, WA : home $373,300, crime 1,229/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does Coulee Dam compare to other US cities?
Coulee Dam measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income47% higher than other cities
Home value46% pricier than other cities
Median rent70% pricier than other cities
Safety26% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Washington and the picture shifts: Coulee Dam ranks #90 of 156 Washington cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Coulee Dam against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Washington only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Washington-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Coulee Dam near the bottom of Washington's cities
Among the 599 Washington cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Coulee Dam ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Coulee Dam only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#396 of 565
30th percentile in Washington
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 599
0th percentile in Washington
Median Home Value
#493 of 565
13th percentile in Washington
Poverty Rate
#217 of 598
63rd percentile in Washington
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#213 of 599
64th percentile in Washington
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Washington only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
47th percentile nationally for median household income · 26th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Coulee Dam's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Coulee Dam's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Coulee Dam's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$212,900Among the most affordablemore affordable than 54% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Coulee Dam's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#7,379 of 15,516
More affordable than 52% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#6,134 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 3.1×, Coulee Dam sits in the moderate band:
national rank #7,379 of 15,516 and #6,134 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$67,868Coulee Dam, WA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Coulee Dam, WA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Coulee Dam, WA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)31.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)8.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)55.7%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,457
Median Income
$67,868
Median Home Value
$212,900
Median Age
42.0
Poverty Rate
8.0%
Labor force participation
55.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
31.9%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2283.8
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2283.8
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
49.9°F
Annual Precipitation
11.1"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Schools
Total Schools
1
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Coulee Dam's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,213 residents
2021
1,218 residents
2022
1,216 residents
2023
1,222 residents
2024
1,232 residents
2025
1,241 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
14.1 minutes
Drive Alone
79.5%
Carpool
7.3%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
5.8%
Work from Home
5.1%
Other
2.3%
Based on 688 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Washington statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $188
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Washington at $188 (electricity about $85 , water and sewer about $55 ).
These are Washington statewide averages, not a meter reading for Coulee Dam. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Washington's BEA cost-of-living index is 107.0 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Coulee Dam is $1,472/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Washington statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 70.0 / 100 (High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Washington statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Coulee Dam sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Coulee Dam compares to similar-size Washington cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.