The book's checklist
- Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1.5% below the U.S. average in the Walla Walla metro area.
- More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
- A safer neighborhood10 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 15.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
- Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
- A hospital close byProvidence St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
- Within reach of a big cityPortland is about 208 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 College Place 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.
What kind of town
College Place runs into the built-up area around Walla Walla (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.
College town. About 1 in 5 residents is a college student, with Walla Walla University in town. Concerts, sports and good food all year, and a big employer that rarely closes. Expect higher home prices close to campus.
The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.
For a lifetime
Homes and money
- Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
- $366,600U.S.: $332,700
- Home prices since then
- Up 6.8%Walla Walla County, 2022 to 2025
- Typical rent, with utilities
- $1,186 a monthU.S.: $1,413
- Typical household income
- $61,914U.S.: $80,734
- Homes owned by the people living in them
- 64%U.S.: 65%
- Typical property tax bill
- $3,244 a yearWashington: $4,556
- Homes built before 1940
- 7%U.S.: 12%
- Homes built since 2010
- 15%U.S.: 11%
- Vacation and seasonal homes
- 0%U.S.: 3%
- Everyday prices
- 98.5U.S. average = 100 (the Walla Walla metro area)
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 6.8% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Walla Walla metro area, not College Place 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, 2025 estimate
- 9,9232020: 9,958
- Median age
- 32.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 21%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 21%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
- 9%U.S.: 6%
- College students
- 19%share of all residents
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 (43%); retail (12%); professional and business services (8%)
- Unemployment rate
- 6%U.S.: 5%
- Average commute
- 13 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
- Work from home
- 11%U.S.: 15%
- Below the poverty line
- 11%U.S.: 12%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Health care
Nearest emergency room: Providence St. Mary Medical Center, Walla Walla, WA, about 3 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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
3 public schools in College Place, run by College Place School District.
Colleges in or next to town: Walla Walla University (1,000 to 4,999 students).
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
- 79%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
- 27°F
- July average high
- 90°F
- Days 90°F or hotter
- 44 a year
- Nights at or below freezing
- 125 a year
- Rain and melted snow
- 16.1 inches a year
- Snow
- 7 inches a year
- Elevation
- 777 feet
Weather stations: Whitman Mission (3 miles away) and Milton Freewater (7 miles away, rain and snow). 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: Providence St. Mary Medical Center, Pasco, Portland.
Walla Walla County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).
For a day
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
National Park Service sites within about an hour:
- Whitman Mission National Historic Site3 miles
Campus life. Check Walla Walla University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.
Read about College Place's history on Wikipedia.
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
- Walla Walla, WA34,000 people, 3 miles
- Milton-Freewater, OR7,000 people, 7 miles
- Athena, OR1,200 people, 16 miles
- Waitsburg, WA1,200 people, 20 miles
- Dayton, WA2,500 people, 28 miles
- Burbank, WA3,600 people, 30 miles
Smaller places
- Garrett, WA (unincorporated)1,697 people, 1 mile
- Walla Walla East, WA (unincorporated)2,099 people, 4 miles
- Umapine, OR (unincorporated)1,215 people, 7 miles
- Dixie, WA (unincorporated)133 people, 13 miles
- Touchet, WA (unincorporated)558 people, 13 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- 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
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- 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
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- 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.