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Towns / Washington

North Bonneville, Washington

North Bonneville is a small town of about 1,400 people in Skamania County, Washington. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.4 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, Portland, is about 34 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,415
up 1.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$445,900
Skamania County prices up 5.9% since 2022
Household income
$100,417
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Portland area
105.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
22 miles
Hood River, OR
To Portland
34 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 5.4% above the U.S. average in the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 4.4 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 North Bonneville 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 townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Stevenson High School, about 6 miles away.
  • A hospital close byProvidence Hood River Memorial Hospital in Hood River, about 22 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPortland is about 34 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 North Bonneville 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
$445,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 5.9%Skamania County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,043 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$100,417U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
63%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,962 a yearWashington: $4,556
Homes built before 1940
2%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
105.4U.S. average = 100 (the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro 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 5.9% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro metro area, not North Bonneville 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
1,4152020: 1,397
Median age
44.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
19%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
18%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
22%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
Schools, health care and social services (17%); manufacturing (16%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (15%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
26 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
11%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
5%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital, Hood River, OR, about 22 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center, Gresham, OR, about 23 miles away. 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

There are no public schools inside North Bonneville itself. The nearest public high school is Stevenson High School, about 6 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
72%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
90%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
34°F
July average high
79°F
Days 90°F or hotter
11 a year
Nights at or below freezing
33 a year
Rain and melted snow
80.2 inches a year
Snow
10 inches a year
Elevation
65 feet

Weather station: Bonneville Dam (1 mile 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: Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital, Gresham, Portland.

Skamania County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, 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:

  • Fort Vancouver National Historic Site33 miles

Read about North Bonneville's history on Wikipedia.

Know North Bonneville?

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

  • Carson, WA (unincorporated)2,318 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.