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Desert Aire, Washington

Desert Aire is an unincorporated community of about 2,800 people in Grant 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 5.3 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 131 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
2,788
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$455,100
Grant County prices up 10% since 2022
Household income
$85,960
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Washington
97.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
26 miles
Sunnyside, WA
To Seattle
131 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 5.3 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 townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Wahluke High School, about 4 miles away.
  • A hospital close byAstria Sunnyside Hospital in Sunnyside, about 26 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySeattle is about 131 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 Desert Aire 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
$455,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 10%Grant County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,739 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$85,960U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
82%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,930 a yearWashington: $4,556
Homes built before 1940
1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
28%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
19%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 10% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Washington outside metro areas, not Desert Aire 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
2,788The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
31.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
21%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
31%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
25%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%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
Farming, forestry and mining (48%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (8%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Work from home
4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
8%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Astria Sunnyside Hospital, Sunnyside, WA, about 26 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: Astria Toppenish Hospital, Toppenish, WA, about 29 miles away. Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

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

There are no public schools inside Desert Aire itself. The nearest public high school is Wahluke High School, about 4 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 any internet subscription
94%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
30°F
July average high
92°F
Days 90°F or hotter
50 a year
Nights at or below freezing
75 a year
Rain and melted snow
7.8 inches a year
Snow
20 inches a year
Elevation
542 feet

Weather stations: Priest Rapids Dam (3 miles away) and Wapato (29 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: Astria Sunnyside Hospital, Yakima, Seattle.

Grant County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 5, 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:

  • Manhattan Project National Historical Park11 miles

Read about Desert Aire's history on Wikipedia.

Know Desert Aire?

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

  • Schwana, WA (unincorporated)387 people, 9 miles
  • Beverly, WA (unincorporated)356 people, 10 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.