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Towns / Washington

Millwood, Washington

Millwood is a suburb of about 1,800 people in Spokane County, Washington, in the Spokane area. It has lost about 3% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.3 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 236 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Spokane

Population
1,825
down 2.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$358,900
Spokane County prices up 5.7% since 2022
Household income
$83,068
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Spokane area
100.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
2 miles
Spokane Valley, WA
To Seattle
236 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 0.3% above the U.S. average in the Spokane-Spokane Valley metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.3 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 Millwood 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 town5 public schools: 3 elementary, 1 high school and 1 other.
  • A hospital close byMulticare Valley Hospital in Spokane Valley, about 2 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySeattle is about 236 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 Millwood 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

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Millwood runs into the built-up area around Spokane (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.

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
$358,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 5.7%Spokane County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,134 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$83,068U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
64%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,254 a yearWashington: $4,556
Homes built before 1940
17%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
9%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
100.3U.S. average = 100 (the Spokane-Spokane Valley 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 5.7% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Spokane-Spokane Valley metro area, not Millwood 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
1,8252020: 1,880
Median age
37.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
26%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
1%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 (31%); construction (12%); professional and business services (11%)
Unemployment rate
1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
18 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
13%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
10%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Multicare Valley Hospital, Spokane Valley, WA, about 2 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 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

5 public schools in Millwood, run by West Valley School District (Spokane).

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
76%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
26°F
July average high
87°F
Days 90°F or hotter
29 a year
Nights at or below freezing
123 a year
Rain and melted snow
16.4 inches a year
Snow
45 inches a year
Elevation
1,949 feet

Weather stations: Spokane Felts Fld (2 miles away) and Spokane Intl Ap (12 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: Multicare Valley Hospital, Spokane Valley, Seattle.

Spokane County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Millwood Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area31 miles

Read about Millwood's history on Wikipedia.

Know Millwood?

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

  • Green Bluff, WA (unincorporated)323 people, 9 miles
  • Hauser, ID915 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.