Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Washington

Camano, Washington

Camano is an unincorporated community of about 17,300 people in Island County, Washington. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 6.4 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Seattle, is about 37 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
17,303
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$670,800
Island County prices up 11% since 2022
Household income
$105,231
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Washington
97.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
11 miles
Coupeville, WA
To Seattle
37 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 2.6% below the U.S. average in the parts of Washington outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 6.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Stanwood High School, about 9 miles away.
  • A hospital close byWhidbeyhealth Medical Center in Coupeville, about 11 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySeattle is about 37 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Camano meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$670,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 11%Island County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,896 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$105,231U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
90%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$4,417 a yearWashington: $4,556
Homes built before 1940
3%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
12%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
97.4U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Washington outside metro areas)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 11% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Washington outside metro areas, not Camano alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey
17,303The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
56.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
34%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
13%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
35%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (23%); manufacturing (13%); construction (12%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
42 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
20%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
7%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Whidbeyhealth Medical Center, Coupeville, WA, about 11 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, Everett, WA, about 16 miles away. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

1 public school in Camano, run by Stanwood-Camano School District. The nearest public high school is Stanwood High School, about 9 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Washington's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
80%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
95%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
37°F
July average high
70°F
Days 90°F or hotter
1 a year
Nights at or below freezing
32 a year
Rain and melted snow
21.7 inches a year
Snow
2 inches a year
Elevation
10 feet

Weather station: Coupeville 1 S (11 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Whidbeyhealth Medical Center, Marysville, Seattle.

Island County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve8 miles
  • San Juan Island National Historical Park32 miles
  • Olympic National Park37 miles
  • North Cascades National Park54 miles
  • Ross Lake National Recreation Area58 miles

Read about Camano's history on Wikipedia.

Know Camano?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Kayak Point, WA (unincorporated)1,883 people, 6 miles
  • Freeland, WA (unincorporated)1,548 people, 9 miles
  • Sunday Lake, WA (unincorporated)1,375 people, 10 miles
  • Lake Ketchum, WA (unincorporated)1,235 people, 11 miles
  • Marrowstone, WA (unincorporated)1,164 people, 13 miles
  • Clinton, WA (unincorporated)1,419 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.