Living in Soap Lake, Washington: homes, schools and costs

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 moneyThe Census survey didn't reach enough homes in Soap Lake to say.
A safer neighborhood1 violent crime was reported in 2025, about 0.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 9.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
A hospital close byColumbia Basin Hospital in Ephrata, about 6 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big citySeattle is about 135 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 Soap Lake 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: $250,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 10%Grant County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $599 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical property tax bill: $1,656 a yearWashington: $4,556
Homes built before 1940: 17%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 8%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 Soap Lake 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: 1,8172020: 1,704
Median age: 35.9 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: 14%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 5%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: Transportation, warehousing and utilities (10%)

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Columbia Basin Hospital, Ephrata, WA, about 6 miles away. 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: Samaritan Hospital, Moses Lake, WA, about 21 miles away. Medicare gives it 2 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

2 public schools in Soap Lake, run by Soap Lake 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 any internet subscription: 91%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: 24°F
July average high: 89°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 40 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 121 a year
Rain and melted snow: 7.6 inches a year
Elevation: 1,083 feet

Weather station: Ephrata Muni Ap (6 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

Columbia Basin HospitalEmergency room6

Yakima, WACity of 97,00075

Seattle, WAMetro of 4.2 million135

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: Columbia Basin 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:

Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area44 miles
Manhattan Project National Historical Park53 miles

Read about Soap Lake's history on Wikipedia.

Know Soap Lake?

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

Ephrata, WA8,800 people, 6 miles
Moses Lake North, WA4,500 people, 16 miles
Cascade Valley, WA4,600 people, 19 miles
Quincy, WA8,500 people, 20 miles
Moses Lake, WA27,000 people, 21 miles
George, WA1,000 people, 28 miles

Smaller places

Lakeview, WA (unincorporated)1,584 people, 1 mile

Sources

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.