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Place dossier plate
SheetWA-LIBERTY-LAKE-WA · Liberty Lake, WA 12,435 pop · income 81st pct
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 Liberty Lake
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Liberty Lake on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Fortuna · lowest
61,603
Fortuna · lowest
61,603 median HH income
41.7% of the leader · rank #1
Lake Summerset · near
105,588
Lake Summerset · near
105,588 median HH income
71.5% of the leader · rank #2
North El Monte · near
105,590
North El Monte · near
105,590 median HH income
71.5% of the leader · rank #3
Liberty Lake · this city
105,599
Liberty Lake · this city
105,599 median HH income
71.5% of the leader · rank #4
Kalaheo · near
105,605
Kalaheo · near
105,605 median HH income
71.5% of the leader · rank #5
Santee · near
105,613
Santee · near
105,613 median HH income
71.5% of the leader · rank #6
Newington For… · highest
147,650
Newington For… · highest
147,650 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 Liberty Lake 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: 12,435.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Liberty Lake - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Liberty Lake lands in the 81st percentile for household income and the 40th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
81st
percentile, household income
85th
percentile, home value
70th
percentile, median rent
40th
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: Liberty Lake, WA
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 12,435 residents in Liberty Lake, a small town within Washington. The typical household in Liberty Lake brings in $105,599 a year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 1.5%. Typical homes in Liberty Lake are valued around $506,000, and the median resident age is 37.4 years. Educational attainment runs 45.2% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 60.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 401 residential building permits were authorized in Liberty Lake (Building Boom), up 77% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Liberty Lake reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR figures show 1681.5 crimes per 100,000 residents, below the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score).
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. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,472 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Washington run around $188, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 70.0 out of 100 (High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Liberty Lake'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 schools and households to population change to housing and income to comparison shortlist to reported crime to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Liberty Lake, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What does the education layer cover for Liberty Lake?
The NCES join finds 5 public schools within the city match. 45.2% 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.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Is Liberty Lake growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
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.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +1,893 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +15.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 401 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
How far does income reach against housing in Liberty Lake?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 1.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
Which cities make useful reference points for Liberty Lake?
Within Washington, the closest population matches are Lake Tapps (12,360 residents, $145,250 income); Ridgefield (12,576 residents, $117,550 income); East Renton Highlands (12,241 residents, $140,048 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Newington Forest, VA (12,434 residents); Overlea, MD (12,430 residents); Boone, IA (12,445 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.
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.
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.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Liberty Lake?
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.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1681.5 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 26% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
1526.7
Violent rate
154.9
Total reported rate
1681.5
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What does the journey to work look like in Liberty Lake?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 57.8%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Public transit
0.3%
Work from home
24.4%
Drive alone
57.8%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 5,415 workers age 16+.
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.
Poverty rate A
1.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share A-
45.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income B+
$105,599
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime C
155 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
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.
Liberty Lake profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 89/100 (A) · 1.5%
Bachelor's+ share: 80/100 (A-) · 45.2%
Household income: 79/100 (B+) · $105,599
Violent crime: 57/100 (C) · 155 /100k
Cost of living: 15/100 (F) · 107.0 index
Where Liberty Lake sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Liberty Lake'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 - Liberty Lake highlighted among 26 peers.Read the chart values
Liberty Lake, WA (this city): home $506,000, crime 1,682/100k
Fortuna, CA : home $353,200, crime 1,400/100k
Box Elder, SD : home $271,800, crime 1,542/100k
Ridgefield, WA : home $590,200, crime 1,157/100k
Enumclaw, WA : home $498,700, crime 1,478/100k
Gig Harbor, WA : home $686,000, crime 3,168/100k
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 Liberty Lake compare to other US cities?
Liberty Lake measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income81% higher than other cities
Home value85% pricier than other cities
Median rent70% pricier than other cities
Safety40% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Washington, Liberty Lake ranks #62 of 156 Washington cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Liberty Lake 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 Liberty Lake near the bottom of Washington's cities
Among the 599 Washington cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Liberty Lake ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Liberty Lake only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#166 of 565
71st percentile in Washington
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 599
0th percentile in Washington
Median Home Value
#190 of 565
66th percentile in Washington
Poverty Rate
#454 of 598
24th percentile in Washington
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#102 of 599
83rd 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
81st percentile nationally for median household income · 40th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Liberty Lake's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Liberty Lake'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 Liberty Lake's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$506,00015th percentilemore affordable than 15% 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
Liberty Lake's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.8×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#12,542 of 15,516
More affordable than 19% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,512 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 4.8×, Liberty Lake sits in the moderate band:
national rank #12,542 of 15,516 and #2,512 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
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
$105,599Liberty Lake, WA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Liberty Lake, 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 Liberty Lake, WA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)45.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)1.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)60.6%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
12,435
Median Income
$105,599
Median Home Value
$506,000
Median Age
37.4
Poverty Rate
1.5%
Labor force participation
60.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
45.2%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1681.5
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
154.9
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1526.7
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.
Schools
Total Schools
5
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Liberty Lake's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
12,136 residents
2021
12,433 residents
2022
12,653 residents
2023
13,060 residents
2024
13,344 residents
2025
14,029 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
401
housing units authorized
Single-Family
138
detached homes
Multifamily
263
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
32.2
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
227
170
57
$61.3M
2020
167
152
15
$48.0M
2021
110
110
0
$33.6M
2022
301
223
78
$78.4M
2023
159
159
0
$50.0M
2024
401
138
263
$94.6M
Permit volume increased 77% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
57.8%
Carpool
14.4%
Public Transit
0.3%
Walk
0.9%
Work from Home
24.4%
Other
2.2%
Based on 5,415 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 Liberty Lake. 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 Liberty Lake 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 Liberty Lake sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Liberty Lake 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, 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.