Editor’s Note: This is not investment advice, and we are not financial advisers.
Suppose real estate is the most significant investment a majority of people make in their lifetime. In that case, it’s best to understand the places in Washington with best potential return on investment.
After working in real estate adjacent roles for over a decade, I had the hypothesis that the best place to buy for a return on investment would be up-and-coming cities. Smaller cities where crime might be high now, but people still move to.
To test my hypothesis, we are going to look at places in Washington that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average, and crime rates are higher than average.
In everyday terms, these might be “deals”. The best deal in Washington at the moment according to Saturday Night Science? That would be Black Diamond.
5.0% population growth · -1.0% home price growth
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
2.1% population growth · -0.4% home price growth
Data | Movers
1.2% population growth · 0.8% home price growth
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
6.0% population growth · 1.3% home price growth
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
2.0% population growth · 0.3% home price growth
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
-0.5% population growth · 1.4% home price growth
Located in
Franklin County, WashingtonConnell is a city in Franklin County, Washington, United States. The population was 4,209 at the 2010 census. The Washington State Office of Financial Management’s 2015 estimate placed the population at 5,446.
Data | Movers
1.1% population growth · 0.3% home price growth
Located in
Yakima County, WashingtonUnion Gap is a city in Yakima County, Washington, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 6,047. Union Gap has a storied history and in recent years has become the retail hub for the entire Yakima Valley as a result of Valley Mall and other thriving businesses being located here. Part of the city is part of the Yakama Nation.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
3.2% population growth · -3.2% home price growth
Located in
Grays Harbor County, WashingtonOcean Shores is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population was 5,569 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
-0.4% population growth · 0.2% home price growth
Located in
Cowlitz County, WashingtonWoodland is a city in Clark and Cowlitz counties in the State of Washington. Most residents live within Cowlitz County, in which the majority of the city lies. It is part of the ‘Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area’. The population was 5,509 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
1.5% population growth · 1.4% home price growth
Located in
Benton County, WashingtonProsser is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Washington, United States, along the Yakima River with only one zip code 99350. The population was 5,714 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Washington’s statewide median.
Washington statewide median: $601,016
On the map
Where Washington’s best buys are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in Washington for 2026?
We were in real estate for almost five years and have worked on this site for over a decade. Suffice it to say we’ve put a lot of thought into finding an excellent 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 using Saturday Night Science.
To do that, we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2020-2024 and compared it to the previous vintage. 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 these caveats: home prices had to be within 20% of the state average, home prices increased in the last year, and the city had above 5,000 people.
So of the 617 cities and towns in Washington, only 122 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.
We then ranked each place from 1 to 122 for the above criteria, with 1 being the best. We averaged the rankings to create a “best place to buy” index, with the place having the lowest index being the best.
Turns out that Black Diamond is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the Evergreen State. The median Washington home is 39 years old — old enough that it pays to compare home warranty plans before something expensive breaks.
The full plate
Best Places To Buy A Home In Washington
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Median Home Price | Population Change | Home Price Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Diamond | 5,961 | $776,133 | 5.0% | -1.0% |
| 2 | Omak | 5,036 | $263,982 | 2.1% | -0.4% |
| 3 | Buckley | 5,371 | $657,837 | 1.2% | 0.8% |
| 4 | Sultan | 6,116 | $564,591 | 6.0% | 1.3% |
| 5 | Blaine | 6,100 | $541,720 | 2.0% | 0.3% |
| 6 | Connell | 5,054 | $325,258 | -0.5% | 1.4% |
| 7 | Union Gap | 6,584 | $253,405 | 1.1% | 0.3% |
| 8 | Ocean Shores | 7,302 | $338,336 | 3.2% | -3.2% |
| 9 | Woodland | 6,487 | $589,005 | -0.4% | 0.2% |
| 10 | Prosser | 6,305 | $420,604 | 1.5% | 1.4% |
| 11 | Steilacoom | 6,686 | $640,511 | 0.0% | 1.3% |
| 12 | Normandy Park | 6,659 | $1,050,869 | 0.0% | 2.9% |
| 13 | Fircrest | 7,069 | $623,545 | -0.2% | 1.2% |
| 14 | Brier | 6,545 | $1,012,104 | 0.6% | 4.0% |
| 15 | Pacific | 7,066 | $561,715 | 0.0% | 2.3% |
| 16 | North Bend | 7,953 | $1,008,581 | 2.7% | 1.6% |
| 17 | Stanwood | 8,373 | $715,579 | 0.3% | 0.9% |
| 18 | Clarkston | 7,191 | $339,607 | -0.7% | 0.1% |
| 19 | Sequim | 8,161 | $562,161 | 0.4% | -1.2% |
| 20 | Chehalis | 7,587 | $478,650 | 0.7% | 0.1% |
| 21 | Quincy | 7,998 | $424,717 | 1.0% | -0.3% |
| 22 | Selah | 8,437 | $436,782 | 1.6% | 0.2% |
| 23 | Duvall | 8,526 | $980,302 | 3.0% | 0.8% |
| 24 | Ephrata | 8,560 | $323,667 | 0.8% | 0.1% |
| 25 | Milton | 8,894 | $572,123 | 1.7% | 1.7% |
| 26 | Othello | 8,795 | $338,063 | 1.1% | -0.8% |
| 27 | Orting | 8,978 | $560,311 | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| 28 | Hoquiam | 8,800 | $242,339 | 0.1% | -0.7% |
| 29 | Ridgefield | 13,408 | $665,864 | 6.6% | -0.1% |
| 30 | Toppenish | 8,723 | $274,117 | -0.3% | 2.1% |
| 31 | Airway Heights | 11,245 | $372,868 | 4.4% | 0.3% |
| 32 | Burlington | 10,003 | $539,012 | 3.8% | 0.7% |
| 33 | Yelm | 11,102 | $489,021 | 4.6% | 1.3% |
| 34 | College Place | 9,854 | $404,142 | 0.3% | 0.4% |
| 35 | DuPont | 9,931 | $621,242 | -0.2% | -1.5% |
| 36 | Port Townsend | 10,438 | $633,223 | 1.4% | -2.2% |
| 37 | Snohomish | 10,239 | $939,010 | 0.6% | 0.9% |
| 38 | Sumner | 10,733 | $593,648 | 0.6% | 0.3% |
| 39 | Gig Harbor | 12,424 | $820,740 | 1.8% | 0.2% |
| 40 | Fife | 10,949 | $557,639 | 0.4% | 1.1% |
| 41 | Liberty Lake | 12,737 | $558,764 | 2.4% | -1.4% |
| 42 | Shelton | 10,612 | $422,092 | -0.1% | -1.0% |
| 43 | Poulsbo | 12,165 | $665,803 | 1.7% | 1.1% |
| 44 | Grandview | 11,187 | $339,263 | 1.3% | 1.9% |
| 45 | Sedro-Woolley | 12,831 | $497,458 | 1.6% | 1.3% |
| 46 | Edgewood | 13,032 | $737,911 | 2.8% | 0.6% |
| 47 | Enumclaw | 12,798 | $680,130 | 1.1% | 1.4% |
| 48 | Newcastle | 12,989 | $1,424,187 | 0.3% | 3.8% |
| 49 | Kelso | 12,684 | $384,872 | -0.1% | 0.2% |
| 50 | Cheney | 12,804 | $420,133 | -0.2% | 0.1% |
| 51 | Woodinville | 13,438 | $1,390,134 | -0.0% | 2.5% |
| 52 | Lake Forest Park | 13,335 | $1,054,029 | -0.2% | 4.4% |
| 53 | Snoqualmie | 13,798 | $1,122,657 | 0.3% | 1.2% |
| 54 | East Wenatchee | 14,199 | $510,449 | 0.6% | 0.6% |
| 55 | Port Orchard | 17,149 | $556,428 | 4.6% | 1.5% |
| 56 | Ferndale | 15,999 | $616,287 | 3.6% | 0.5% |
| 57 | Lynden | 16,234 | $625,493 | 1.3% | 1.2% |
| 58 | West Richland | 17,586 | $493,162 | 2.7% | -1.0% |
| 59 | Washougal | 17,490 | $640,872 | 3.2% | 0.3% |
| 60 | Aberdeen | 17,088 | $273,201 | 0.3% | -1.7% |
| 61 | Sunnyside | 16,277 | $322,238 | -0.3% | 1.5% |
| 62 | Anacortes | 17,966 | $725,456 | 0.7% | 0.9% |
| 63 | Centralia | 18,830 | $395,613 | 2.0% | 0.8% |
| 64 | Monroe | 19,755 | $733,030 | 0.3% | 2.2% |
| 65 | Arlington | 21,095 | $669,006 | 2.4% | 1.8% |
| 66 | Port Angeles | 20,118 | $450,576 | 0.2% | -0.5% |
| 67 | Tukwila | 21,451 | $575,995 | -0.1% | 2.6% |
| 68 | Ellensburg | 20,874 | $453,797 | 10.4% | 0.1% |
| 69 | Mill Creek | 20,956 | $981,773 | 0.5% | 1.4% |
| 70 | Battle Ground | 21,886 | $606,387 | 2.8% | -0.0% |
| 71 | Covington | 21,233 | $678,607 | 1.3% | 1.2% |
| 72 | Bonney Lake | 22,090 | $676,348 | -3.0% | 0.5% |
| 73 | Mountlake Terrace | 23,104 | $699,079 | 7.9% | 3.2% |
| 74 | Mukilteo | 21,323 | $933,199 | 0.1% | 2.1% |
| 75 | Kenmore | 23,741 | $1,046,652 | 0.6% | 2.9% |
| 76 | Oak Harbor | 24,362 | $528,587 | -0.1% | 1.0% |
| 77 | Tumwater | 26,956 | $526,058 | 1.6% | 0.9% |
| 78 | Moses Lake | 26,083 | $364,481 | 1.9% | -1.2% |
| 79 | Camas | 27,007 | $751,543 | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| 80 | Bainbridge Island | 24,631 | $1,173,703 | 0.1% | 0.7% |
| 81 | Mercer Island | 25,307 | $2,326,984 | 0.1% | 2.8% |
| 82 | Maple Valley | 28,287 | $799,653 | 0.6% | 0.9% |
| 83 | SeaTac | 32,414 | $553,220 | 4.1% | -0.1% |
| 84 | Des Moines | 32,823 | $612,731 | 0.9% | 3.0% |
| 85 | Walla Walla | 33,925 | $413,578 | 0.5% | 0.7% |
| 86 | Lake Stevens | 40,253 | $705,682 | 1.9% | 0.7% |
| 87 | University Place | 34,911 | $661,410 | 0.2% | 1.2% |
| 88 | Pullman | 32,229 | $423,693 | 0.9% | -1.0% |
| 89 | Wenatchee | 35,484 | $491,478 | -0.1% | -0.4% |
| 90 | Mount Vernon | 35,377 | $586,879 | 0.2% | 1.1% |
| 91 | Longview | 38,069 | $385,310 | 0.6% | -0.1% |
| 92 | Lynnwood | 40,110 | $784,107 | -2.1% | 1.8% |
| 93 | Issaquah | 39,591 | $1,158,594 | 0.3% | 2.5% |
| 94 | Bremerton | 44,830 | $483,132 | 0.7% | 1.6% |
| 95 | Puyallup | 42,746 | $570,442 | 0.2% | 1.2% |
| 96 | Edmonds | 42,735 | $942,131 | -0.1% | 3.3% |
| 97 | Bothell | 49,610 | $1,061,138 | 2.1% | 1.3% |
| 98 | Lacey | 57,737 | $516,096 | 1.1% | 1.8% |
| 99 | Burien | 51,513 | $650,469 | 0.4% | 3.0% |
| 100 | Olympia | 55,951 | $533,713 | 0.7% | -0.5% |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024 via Saturday Night Science. 122 Washington cities cleared the filters.
Summary
Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In Washington for 2026
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 617 places in the state.
The best cities to buy a house in Washington are Black Diamond, Omak, Buckley, Sultan, Blaine, Connell, Union Gap, Ocean Shores, Woodland, and Prosser.
So if we could rent or buy in these cities, we’d definitely buy. Not sold on Washington? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Best Places To Buy A House In Washington FAQs
What is the best city in Washington to buy a house?
Black Diamond is the best place to buy a house in Washington for 2026. Its population is growing, home values are rising, and the median home still costs $776,133. Omak and Buckley are next on the list.
What are the best cities to buy a home in Washington?
The best cities to buy a house in Washington are Black Diamond, Omak, Buckley, Sultan, Blaine, Connell, Union Gap, Ocean Shores, Woodland, and Prosser. Only 122 of the 617 places in Washington cleared our filters on growth and home prices.
How much does a house cost in Black Diamond?
The median home value in Black Diamond is $776,133, versus $601,016 across Washington. Across the full top ten, the median home runs $481,162.
How do you pick the best places to buy a home in Washington?
We look for Washington places where the population is growing, home prices are climbing, and homes are still cheap relative to the state average, using Census American Community Survey data. Cities that hit all three get the highest Buy Index scores.
Is this a guarantee home values will go up?
No. This is not investment advice — just where the data points to potential value. The Buy Index says these markets look healthier than most of Washington, not that any single house is a good deal.
