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Fairwood (Spokane County).

All Fairwood (Spokane County) data Compare Fairwood (Spokane County)

10,674people live here $91,988median household income▲ 14% above US $1,208median rent per month▼ 15% below US $469,100median home value▲ 41% above US

What it's like to live in Fairwood (Spokane County)

Fairwood (Spokane County) is a small city in Washington with rent below the national average, household incomes running above the national average, and a highly educated workforce. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Fairwood (Spokane County) deals with home prices well above the national average, commute times longer than most cities, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, and larger class sizes than the national average.

The good

Rent below the national average
Higher-than-average incomes
Highly educated workforce

The not so good

High home prices
Above-average commute times
Air quality concerns
High student-teacher ratio
High rent burden for renters
Cold winters

How Fairwood (Spokane County) compares

Median household income

Fairwood (Spokane County)$91,988

Washington avg$98,141

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Fairwood (Spokane County)$1,208

Washington avg$1,760

US$1,413

Median home value

Fairwood (Spokane County)$469,100

Washington avg$564,600

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Fairwood (Spokane County)

Based on Fairwood (Spokane County)'s median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$2,416

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $48,320 a year
57% of Fairwood (Spokane County) renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$93,820

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $46,910
Homes cost 5.1× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▼ 15% below US

$1,208/mo median rent

Cost of living works in this city's favor. Median rent sits around $1,208 a month, nothing that raises eyebrows. Solid value overall. Home prices are steep, with a median around $469,100. Renting first to get a feel for the city before buying is often the more practical route.

Median home value $469,100 · 57% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

4.3% county unemployment

Unemployment in Spokane County is 4.3%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Spokane County (county-wide)

Safety

109 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Fairwood (Spokane County) doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Spokane County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 1088/100k · Policed by Spokane County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▲ 17% above US

30 min average commute

Traffic is a real factor here. The 30.4 minute average means plenty of commuters are pushing 45 to 60 minutes on a bad day. Proximity to work matters more here than it might elsewhere. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 16% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

73%

Work from home

16%

Carpool

4.8%

Walk

2.6%

Public transit

2.5%

Other

1.7%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 83°F, and winters are cold, with lows around 26°F and snow a regular occurrence. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▲ 29% above US

47% bachelor's degree or higher

The population is well-educated, with 47% holding college degrees. That points to a strong professional base and generally a healthy local economy.

Schools

2 public schools inside the boundary

There are 2 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 19:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area (51 miles away).

Bottom line

Fairwood (Spokane County)'s strongest points are rent below the national average and household incomes running above the national average; the main tradeoffs are home prices well above the national average and commute times longer than most cities. A year of median rent ($1,208/mo) equals 16% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget, remote workers (16% of workers here already work from home), and college-educated professionals.

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