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Towns / Washington

Winlock, Washington

Winlock is a small town of about 2,600 people in Lewis County, Washington. It's growing fast: its population is up 44% since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.5 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 67 miles away as the crow flies.

Boom town

Population
2,640
up 44% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$361,700
Lewis County prices up 9.9% since 2022
Household income
$80,451
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Washington
97.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
16 miles
Centralia, WA
To Portland
67 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 4.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood1 violent crime was reported in 2025, about 0.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 0.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byProvidence Centralia Hospital in Centralia, about 16 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPortland is about 67 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 Winlock 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

Boom town. The population is up 44% since 2020. Growing fast, with rising home values. Watch for chain stores and big apartment complexes: the small-town feel may not last.

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
$361,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 9.9%Lewis County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,119 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$80,451U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
82%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,687 a yearWashington: $4,556
Homes built before 1940
23%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
21%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 9.9% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Washington outside metro areas, not Winlock 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
2,6402020: 1,836
Median age
32.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
11%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
29%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
17%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
Schools, health care and social services (20%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (13%); manufacturing (11%)
Average commute
31 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
15%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Providence Centralia Hospital, Centralia, WA, about 16 miles away. It's a general hospital. 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

4 public schools in Winlock, run by Winlock School District and Evaline 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
56%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
93%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
35°F
July average high
79°F
Days 90°F or hotter
8 a year
Nights at or below freezing
54 a year
Rain and melted snow
58.7 inches a year
Snow
3 inches a year
Elevation
460 feet

Weather stations: Toledo Faa Ap (5 miles away) and Mayfield Pwr Plt (15 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: Providence Centralia Hospital, Olympia, Portland.

Lewis 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Mount Rainier National Park42 miles
  • Lewis and Clark National Historical Park47 miles

Read about Winlock's history on Wikipedia.

Know Winlock?

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

  • Toledo, WA776 people, 4 miles
  • Vader, WA730 people, 6 miles
  • Ryderwood, WA (unincorporated)401 people, 10 miles
  • Onalaska, WA (unincorporated)848 people, 12 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.