Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Washington

Oak Harbor, Washington

Oak Harbor is a small town of about 24,000 people in Island County, Washington. It has lost about 2% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 6.1 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 48 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
24,083
down 2.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$461,200
Island County prices up 11% since 2022
Household income
$76,084
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Washington
97.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
6 miles
Coupeville, WA
To Seattle
48 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 6.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood31 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 9.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town8 public schools: 5 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byWhidbeyhealth Medical Center in Coupeville, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySeattle is about 48 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 Oak 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
$461,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 11%Island County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,645 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$76,084U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
47%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,596 a yearWashington: $4,556
Homes built before 1940
1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
11%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%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 11% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Washington outside metro areas, not Oak 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
24,0832020: 24,626
Median age
31.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
29%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
11%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%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 (28%); retail (14%); professional and business services (12%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
18 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%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: Whidbeyhealth Medical Center, Coupeville, WA, about 6 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: Island Hospital, Anacortes, WA, about 15 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

8 public schools in Oak Harbor, run by Oak Harbor 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
86%U.S.: 76%
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
38°F
July average high
69°F
Days 90°F or hotter
0 a year
Nights at or below freezing
40 a year
Rain and melted snow
19.9 inches a year
Snow
5 inches a year
Elevation
176 feet

Weather station: Whidbey Island Nas (4 miles 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: Whidbeyhealth Medical Center, Marysville, Seattle.

Island County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

8 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Central Whidbey Island Historic District, the Deception Pass State Park-Cranberry Lake Bathing and Picnic Area Historic District, the Deception Pass State Park-Cranberry Lake Caretaker's Area Historic District and the Deception Pass State Park-North Beach Picnic Area Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve3 miles
  • San Juan Island National Historical Park19 miles
  • Olympic National Park35 miles
  • North Cascades National Park55 miles

Read about Oak Harbor's history on Wikipedia.

Know Oak 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

  • Whidbey Island Station, WA (unincorporated)2,027 people, 4 miles
  • La Conner, WA991 people, 9 miles
  • Lake Ketchum, WA (unincorporated)1,235 people, 13 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.