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Place dossier plate
SheetWA-OAK-HARBOR-WA · Oak Harbor, WA 24,396 pop · income 52nd 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 Oak Harbor
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Oak Harbor on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Kankakee · lowest
45,119
Kankakee · lowest
45,119 median HH income
22.3% of the leader · rank #1
Brookside · near
72,031
Brookside · near
72,031 median HH income
35.6% of the leader · rank #2
Richmond · near
72,036
Richmond · near
72,036 median HH income
35.6% of the leader · rank #3
East Rochester · near
72,036
East Rochester · near
72,036 median HH income
35.6% of the leader · rank #4
Oak Harbor · this city
72,041
Oak Harbor · this city
72,041 median HH income
35.6% of the leader · rank #5
Hackneyville · near
72,045
Hackneyville · near
72,045 median HH income
35.6% of the leader · rank #6
Mercer Island · highest
202,359
Mercer Island · highest
202,359 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 Oak Harbor 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: 24,396.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Oak Harbor - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Oak Harbor places in the 52nd percentile for household income and the 64th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
52nd
percentile, household income
79th
percentile, home value
70th
percentile, median rent
64th
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: Oak Harbor, WA
24,396 people live in Oak Harbor, Washington - a small city by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $72,041 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 5.5%. Home values in Oak Harbor run a median of $421,700, and the median resident age is 31.8 years. 27.9% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 46.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 121 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 476% from five years earlier. Oak Harbor reports a comparatively low crime rate: the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program logs 990.9 total incidents per 100,000 residents here, below the national average (agency reporting is voluntary, so this measures reporting activity, not 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. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,472 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $188 across Washington, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 70.0 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Oak Harbor'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 work and mobility to population change to schools and households to reported crime to housing and income to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Oak Harbor, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, local building permits, annual population history, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates.
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 journey to work look like in Oak Harbor?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 78.8%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
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.
Is Oak Harbor growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -543 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -2.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 121 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 downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
What does the education layer cover for Oak Harbor?
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.
The NCES join finds 12 public schools within the city match. 27.9% 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Oak Harbor?
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 Frederickson (24,219 residents, $107,241 income); Bainbridge Island (24,607 residents, $159,882 income); North Lynnwood (23,653 residents, $102,888 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Oak Ridge, FL (24,395 residents); Kankakee, IL (24,384 residents); Ponca City, OK (24,377 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.
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 Oak Harbor?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 990.9 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 57% lower 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.
Total reported rate
990.9
Violent rate
113.4
Property rate
877.5
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
How far does income reach against housing in Oak Harbor?
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.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 5.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
5.9×
Home value
$421,700
Household income
$72,041
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Above median income · poverty 5.5% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
107.0 (US=100)
High cost · BEA RPP 2024, Washington average
C-
City profile score · Oak Harbor, WA
50/100
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 B-
113 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Poverty rate C+
5.5%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share C-
27.9%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income C-
$72,041
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.
Oak Harbor profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Violent crime: 67/100 (B-) · 113 /100k
Poverty rate: 62/100 (C+) · 5.5%
Bachelor's+ share: 54/100 (C-) · 27.9%
Household income: 52/100 (C-) · $72,041
Cost of living: 15/100 (F) · 107.0 index
Where Oak Harbor sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Oak Harbor'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 - Oak Harbor highlighted among 27 peers.Read the chart values
Oak Harbor, WA (this city): home $421,700, crime 991/100k
Ponca City, OK : home $127,500, crime 3,080/100k
Clinton, IA : home $115,400, crime 3,086/100k
Benbrook, TX : home $278,200, crime 2,091/100k
Bainbridge Island, WA : home $1,076,200, crime 989/100k
Kenmore, WA : home $869,800, crime 1,072/100k
Mercer Island, WA : home $1,884,200, crime 1,278/100k
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 Oak Harbor compare to other US cities?
Where Oak Harbor sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income52% higher than other cities
Home value79% pricier than other cities
Median rent70% pricier than other cities
Safety64% 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, Oak Harbor ranks #33 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 Oak Harbor 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 Oak Harbor near the bottom of Washington's cities
Among the 599 Washington cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Oak Harbor ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Oak Harbor only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#364 of 565
36th percentile in Washington
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 599
0th percentile in Washington
Median Home Value
#282 of 565
50th percentile in Washington
Poverty Rate
#300 of 598
49th percentile in Washington
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#266 of 599
55th 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
52nd percentile nationally for median household income · 64th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Oak Harbor's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Oak Harbor'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 Oak Harbor's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$421,70021st percentilemore affordable than 21% 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
Oak Harbor's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.9×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,974 of 15,516
More affordable than 10% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,935 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 5.9×, Oak Harbor sits in the pressured band:
national rank #13,974 of 15,516 and #2,935 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
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
$72,041Oak Harbor, WA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Oak Harbor, 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 Oak Harbor, WA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)27.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)5.5%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)46.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
24,396
Median Income
$72,041
Median Home Value
$421,700
Median Age
31.8
Poverty Rate
5.5%
Labor force participation
46.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
27.9%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
990.9
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
113.4
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
877.5
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
12
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Oak Harbor's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
24,626 residents
2021
24,677 residents
2022
24,280 residents
2023
24,034 residents
2024
24,083 residents
2025
24,083 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
121
housing units authorized
Single-Family
26
detached homes
Multifamily
95
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
5
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
21
9
12
$4.3M
2020
111
4
107
$16.7M
2021
45
41
4
$13.8M
2022
32
19
13
$7.7M
2023
22
22
0
$8.6M
2024
121
26
95
$25.6M
Permit volume increased 476% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
78.8%
Carpool
12.4%
Public Transit
0.6%
Walk
2.3%
Work from Home
4.9%
Other
1.0%
Based on 11,395 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 Oak Harbor. 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 Oak Harbor 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 Oak Harbor sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Oak Harbor 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.