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Friday Harbor, Washington

Friday Harbor is a small town of about 2,700 people in San Juan County, Washington. It's the county seat. It has grown about 4% since 2020. A typical home costs about 7.1 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 70 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
2,729
up 3.7% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$570,400
San Juan County prices up 15% since 2022
Household income
$80,378
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Washington
97.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Peacehealth Peace Island Medical Center
To Seattle
70 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 7.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Friday Harbor itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byPeacehealth Peace Island Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySeattle is about 70 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 Friday Harbor 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
$570,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 15%San Juan County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,696 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$80,378U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
59%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,985 a yearWashington: $4,556
Homes built before 1940
8%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
12%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
9%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 15% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Washington outside metro areas, not Friday Harbor 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
2,7292020: 2,632
Median age
42.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%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
8%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 (17%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (15%); professional and business services (14%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
10 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
12%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
13%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Peacehealth Peace Island Medical Center, Friday Harbor, WA, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: Island Hospital, Anacortes, WA, about 19 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

3 public schools in Friday Harbor, run by San Juan Island School District.

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
70%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
92%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
72°F
Days 90°F or hotter
0 a year
Nights at or below freezing
40 a year
Rain and melted snow
29.2 inches a year
Snow
6 inches a year
Elevation
77 feet

Weather stations: Friday Harbor Ap (1 mile away) and Olga 2 SE (11 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: Bellingham, Seattle.

San Juan County is outside any metro area, with fewer than 5,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 9, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including American and English Camps, San Juan Island, the San Juan Island National Historic Site and San Juan Lime Company-Cowell's. Two are National Historic Landmarks, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • San Juan Island National Historical Park4 miles
  • Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve23 miles
  • Olympic National Park35 miles

Read about Friday Harbor's history on Wikipedia.

Know Friday Harbor?

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

  • Roche Harbor, WA (unincorporated)778 people, 7 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.