The 10 Best Places To Buy A House In Washington For 2022


Using science and data, we can tell you which places in Washington have seen home prices rising and people flocking over the past year.

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Editor’s note: This is not investment advice and we are not financial advisers. Article updated for 2022.

There's a the age old question everyone thinks about when they decide to move to a city in Washington:

Should I buy a place or rent? Well, we aren't here today to solve that problem for you exactly. We are just assuming you'll do the right thing and a buy a place. And while we are happy to tell you the best place to live in Washington, this analysis is going to tackle the question of the best place to buy a house as an investor. That is we are going to try and determine the up and coming cities in the Evergreen State.

To do that we are going to look at places in Washington that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average. In every day terms, the "deals". The best deal in Washington at the moment? That would be Wapato according to our analysis.

Here's a look at the top ten places to buy a home in Washington for 2022.

The 10 Best Places To Buy A Home In Washington For 2022

  1. Wapato
  2. Mattawa
  3. Sultan
  4. Blaine
  5. Connell
  6. Union Gap
  7. Ocean Shores
  8. Woodland
  9. Prosser
  10. Steilacoom

What's the best place to buy a home in Washington for 2022? According to our analysis, would the the ideal place to buy a home looking into the future.

The methodology that wen't into this can be a bit complicated, so we'll break it down for you in as much detail as we can below. If you're not worried about finding a deal on good places to live, check out the most expensive places to live in Washington and, for those of you on a budget, the cheapest places to live in Washington.

For more Washington reading, check out:

The 10 Best Cities To Buy A House In Washington For 2022

1. Wapato

Wapato, WA

Source: Wikipedia User | CC-BY-SA-3.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 5,018
Median Home Price: $109,400
Population Change: -0.5%
Home Price Change: -2.7%
More on Wapato: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

2. Mattawa

Mattawa, WA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 5,040
Median Home Price: $112,700
Population Change: 6.9%
Home Price Change: 4.3%
More on Mattawa: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

3. Sultan

Sultan, WA

Source: Wikipedia User Joe Mabel | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 5,330
Median Home Price: $281,800
Population Change: 3.2%
Home Price Change: -3.1%
More on Sultan: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

4. Blaine

Blaine, WA

Source: Wikipedia User Froggerlaura (talk) | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 5,427
Median Home Price: $333,900
Population Change: 2.1%
Home Price Change: -0.0%
More on Blaine: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

5. Connell

Connell, WA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 5,518
Median Home Price: $161,400
Population Change: 0.0%
Home Price Change: 25.9%
More on Connell: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

6. Union Gap

Union Gap, WA

Source: Wikipedia User Jon Roanhaus | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 6,167
Median Home Price: $126,800
Population Change: 0.1%
Home Price Change: 17.6%
More on Union Gap: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

7. Ocean Shores

Ocean Shores, WA

Source: Wikipedia User Emily Diehl | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 6,196
Median Home Price: $250,800
Population Change: 3.7%
Home Price Change: 7.5%
More on Ocean Shores: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

8. Woodland

Woodland, WA

Source: Wikipedia User Oldhippy1947 at English W | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 6,223
Median Home Price: $276,200
Population Change: 2.5%
Home Price Change: 9.6%
More on Woodland: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

9. Prosser

Prosser, WA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 6,288
Median Home Price: $185,700
Population Change: 1.4%
Home Price Change: 1.5%
More on Prosser: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

10. Steilacoom

Steilacoom, WA

Source: Wikipedia User Joe Mabel | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 6,366
Median Home Price: $394,500
Population Change: 1.0%
Home Price Change: 9.2%
More on Steilacoom: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in Washington for 2022?

We were in real estate for almost five years and have been working on this site for another three. Suffice is to say, we've put a lot of thought into what goes into finding a good place to buy a home.

So all that thinking has come to this moment where we get to spell out how we'd approach finding an up-and-coming place to live in Washington. Put differently, the analysis will try to find places in Washington with undervalued homes relative to pent up demand.

Richest Cities In Washington

To do that we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2016-2020 and compared it to the previous vintage (2012-2016). Specifically, we used the following criteria:

  • Y-o-Y Change In Population (People want to live here)
  • Y-o-Y Change In Median Home Prices (People are willing to pay for it)
  • Home Prices Relative To The State Average (It's still kinda cheap)

We want places that are growing, have seen home prices increase in recent years, and are still "cheap" for Washington with the following caveats:

So of the 0 cities and towns in Washington, only 121 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.

We then ranked each place from 1 to 121 for the criteria mentioned above with 1 being the best for that criteria. We averaged the rankings to create a "best place to buy" index with the place having the lowest index being the best. You can download the data here.

Turns out that Wapato is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the Evergreen State.

Read on for more on these places.

Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In Washington for 2022

There's our analysis of the best places to buy a house in Washington. And, to be clear, we aren't necessarily saying these places are the best places to live, just that it looks like they might be in a couple of years based on the data.

In fact, every place in the following table meets our criteria, so even though it may not look super long, remember we started off with all 0 places in the state.

So if we'd could rent or buy in these cities, we'd definitely buy.

For more Washington reading, check out:

Home Prices By City In Washington

City Rank Median Home Price Population Change Home Price Increase
Wapato 1 $109,400 -0.5% -2.7%
Mattawa 2 $112,700 6.9% 4.3%
Sultan 3 $281,800 3.2% -3.1%
Blaine 4 $333,900 2.1% -0.0%
Connell 5 $161,400 0.0% 25.9%
Union Gap 6 $126,800 0.1% 17.6%
Ocean Shores 7 $250,800 3.7% 7.5%
Woodland 8 $276,200 2.5% 9.6%
Prosser 9 $185,700 1.4% 1.5%
Steilacoom 10 $394,500 1.0% 9.2%
Normandy Park 11 $685,800 -0.4% 7.9%
Fircrest 12 $375,600 0.7% 9.3%
Brier 13 $619,600 0.8% 17.8%
Pacific 14 $305,200 -1.3% 8.3%
North Bend 15 $628,100 2.5% 14.4%
Stanwood 16 $366,900 2.3% 7.6%
Clarkston 17 $145,600 0.7% 1.8%
Sequim 18 $231,200 2.7% -3.1%
Chehalis 19 $202,900 1.5% 11.5%
Quincy 20 $165,700 2.2% 7.9%
Selah 21 $249,400 1.3% 10.9%
Duvall 22 $543,200 1.0% 11.7%
Ephrata 23 $169,000 0.1% 3.7%
Milton 24 $340,600 6.4% 12.1%
Othello 25 $171,600 1.7% 4.2%
Orting 26 $293,800 3.2% 8.1%
Hoquiam 27 $128,200 0.9% 15.6%
Ridgefield 28 $406,400 12.7% 2.0%
Toppenish 29 $142,300 -0.0% 9.4%
Airway Heights 30 $186,300 3.8% 6.5%
Burlington 31 $269,800 2.3% 12.0%
Yelm 32 $270,900 3.1% 6.2%
College Place 33 $205,500 1.4% 4.2%
Dupont 34 $343,400 0.8% 4.4%
Port Townsend 35 $352,400 1.7% 4.3%
Snohomish 36 $392,000 1.7% 7.0%
Sumner 37 $347,500 1.9% 4.4%
Gig Harbor 38 $509,800 4.3% 7.2%
Fife 39 $325,500 2.5% 12.8%
Liberty Lake 40 $334,200 5.5% 16.8%
Shelton 41 $184,100 3.0% 13.2%
Poulsbo 42 $389,300 2.5% 8.1%
Grandview 43 $148,300 -0.4% 2.0%
Sedro-Woolley 44 $276,400 1.5% 13.3%
Edgewood 45 $430,600 6.6% 5.3%
Enumclaw 46 $333,600 1.5% 11.6%
Newcastle 47 $780,100 2.8% 2.7%
Kelso 48 $185,500 0.9% 25.3%
Cheney 49 $225,900 2.4% 11.0%
Woodinville 50 $685,500 5.3% 9.9%
Lake Forest Park 51 $676,400 0.2% 8.5%
Snoqualmie 52 $640,700 0.5% 4.9%
East Wenatchee 53 $283,800 0.4% 3.3%
Port Orchard 54 $357,500 1.7% 10.3%
Ferndale 55 $329,800 3.9% 9.7%
Lynden 56 $362,400 2.9% 4.1%
West Richland 57 $292,500 2.4% 8.1%
Washougal 58 $349,300 1.0% 7.3%
Aberdeen 59 $143,700 0.7% 15.6%
Sunnyside 60 $146,700 0.9% 13.4%
Anacortes 61 $446,000 1.5% 9.7%
Centralia 62 $162,800 1.5% 3.5%
Monroe 63 $395,500 2.9% 10.8%
Arlington 64 $345,800 2.4% 7.0%
Port Angeles 65 $231,900 1.2% 6.8%
Tukwila 66 $314,200 0.3% -0.3%
Ellensburg 67 $235,800 2.5% 0.8%
Mill Creek 68 $584,400 1.0% 8.9%
Battle Ground 69 $317,700 2.6% 12.3%
Covington 70 $386,900 1.5% 8.3%
Bonney Lake 71 $372,200 2.6% 12.4%
Mountlake Terrace 72 $424,700 0.6% 8.2%
Mukilteo 73 $624,900 0.4% 7.2%
Kenmore 74 $617,000 1.1% 7.7%
Oak Harbor 75 $297,000 1.2% 7.0%
Tumwater 76 $312,600 1.8% 9.0%
Moses Lake 77 $188,000 1.7% 14.1%
Camas 78 $458,000 3.6% 3.8%
Bainbridge Island 79 $783,600 1.5% 11.1%
Mercer Island 80 $1,386,300 0.6% 13.8%
Maple Valley 81 $451,900 1.5% 9.0%
Seatac 82 $338,000 0.3% 5.2%
Des Moines 83 $379,300 0.8% 5.6%
Walla Walla 84 $225,700 0.5% 10.9%
Lake Stevens 85 $384,400 3.0% 7.7%
University Place 86 $387,800 1.0% 5.6%
Pullman 87 $287,700 1.1% 5.6%
Wenatchee 88 $273,100 0.2% 7.7%
Mount Vernon 89 $308,900 1.4% 14.8%
Longview 90 $212,300 1.1% 11.5%
Lynnwood 91 $443,100 1.0% 12.1%
Issaquah 92 $677,500 2.0% 5.5%
Bremerton 93 $270,100 1.5% 13.2%
Puyallup 94 $352,800 1.6% 7.2%
Edmonds 95 $587,200 0.7% 9.4%
Bothell 96 $587,900 1.4% 10.9%
Lacey 97 $286,200 3.2% 9.0%
Burien 98 $419,500 0.2% 10.3%
Olympia 99 $330,800 1.5% 11.3%
Shoreline 100 $582,000 1.0% 11.9%
Download The Entire Washington Ranking Data

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About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

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