Safest Counties in Washington: 18 Ranked (2026)
The 18 Washington counties where police report enough to the FBI to build a reliable rate, ranked by violent crime, with home prices, asking rents and incomes where available.
Washington has 39 counties. Eighteen of them clear the reporting bar this page uses, and the gap between the quietest, Island at 78 violent offenses per 100,000, and the busiest, Pierce at 408, is 5.2 to one. Beside each rate sits what homes there closed at over the last 12 months, from 102,304 closing records Resideline tracked across all 18 counties.
The crime rates here are built from the 6,820,018 residents those police agencies actually report on, over the months they reported. Each figure is a single county-wide figure, so treat this as a way to narrow a search rather than a verdict on any street.
We do not treat missing or conflicting crime data as zero. A county appears here only when its reporting clears our reliability threshold, and we set aside results that conflict materially with the state's own records. Whether a county is ranked depends on its crime reporting alone; whether it shows a price depends on whether Resideline tracked enough closings there.
The ranking
| # | County | Violent per 100k | Property per 100k | Median closed price | Median asking rent | Median income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Island | 78 | 601 | $599,625 | $2,365 | $88,776 |
| 2 | Skagit | 111 | 1,388 | $549,925 | $2,400 | $89,774 |
| 3 | Snohomish | 157 | 1,374 | $710,000 | $2,900 | $109,146 |
| 4 | Cowlitz | 168 | 1,434 | $407,500 | $1,450 | $78,357 |
| 5 | Whatcom | 185 | 1,768 | $589,000 | $2,200 | $85,471 |
| 6 | Lewis | 190 | 1,203 | $428,990 | $1,695 | $78,178 |
| 7 | Chelan | 199 | 1,145 | $558,500 | $1,950 | $79,974 |
| 8 | Kitsap | 206 | 1,411 | $557,925 | $2,500 | $107,964 |
| 9 | Clallam | 216 | 1,248 | $460,000 | $2,200 | $74,311 |
| 10 | Benton | 246 | 1,907 | $425,000 | $1,895 | $91,289 |
| 11 | Thurston | 252 | 1,336 | $515,000 | $2,400 | $97,316 |
| 12 | Mason | 254 | 1,015 | $400,000 | $2,100 | $84,112 |
| 13 | Walla Walla | 304 | 1,312 | $400,000 | $1,495 | $72,788 |
| 14 | Yakima | 318 | 1,620 | $359,700 | $1,600 | $72,458 |
| 15 | Franklin | 322 | 1,496 | $424,000 | $1,995 | $81,405 |
| 16 | Spokane | 354 | 2,979 | $418,827 | $1,750 | $85,192 |
| 17 | King | 356 | 2,787 | $835,018 | $2,863 | $121,984 |
| 18 | Pierce | 408 | 2,050 | $565,000 | $2,400 | $100,125 |
A closer look at the 12 safest counties
1. Island County
At 78 violent offenses per 100,000, Island sits in the lowest quarter of the places on this list. The median comparable US county records 245, so it is quieter than most of the country too. The median home closed at $599,625, roughly 123 percent of the middle figure for these counties. That combination, among the safest counties here and among the most expensive, is what most buyers are picturing when they pay a premium for a quiet address. Measured against local pay it is one of the harder counties on this list to buy into, at 6.8 times median household income. Its property rate is also among the lowest here, 601 per 100,000, or 0.5 times the median comparable US county. For prices at street level, see Stanwood, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
2. Skagit County
Skagit's violent crime rate is 111 per 100,000 residents, the lowest quarter among the Washington counties Resideline can measure. That is below the median comparable US county, which records 245. Buyers there paid a median of $549,925, some 113 percent of the level across the counties measured. Its property rate, 1,388 per 100,000, sits in the middle of these counties. The median rental listing asks $2,400 a month. Resideline publishes a separate page for Anacortes, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
3. Snohomish County
Police in Snohomish reported 157 violent offenses per 100,000 people, putting it in the lowest quarter of this list. The median comparable US county records 245, so it is quieter than most of the country too. A median closing price of $710,000 puts it at roughly 146 percent of the middle figure for this list. Both its crime rate and its price sit at the ends of this list, in the directions people expect them to. Median household income is $109,146, roughly 128 percent of the level across this list. Its property rate, 1,374 per 100,000, sits in the middle of these counties. For prices at street level, see Everett, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
4. Cowlitz County
Cowlitz records 168 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, which places it in the lowest quarter of the Washington counties measured here. The median comparable US county records 245, so it is quieter than most of the country too. Homes changed hands at a median $407,500, around 84 percent of what the rest of this list recorded. Quiet and inexpensive together is the rarest pairing on a list like this, and this is one of them. Its property rate, 1,434 per 100,000, sits in the middle of these counties. Asking rents run about $1,450 a month. Resideline publishes a separate page for Longview, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
5. Whatcom County
Police in Whatcom reported 185 violent offenses per 100,000 people, putting it in the lowest quarter of this list. The median comparable US county records 245, so it is quieter than most of the country too. Homes there closed at a median of $589,000, about 121 percent of the median across this list. Low crime and high prices arrive together here, which is the arrangement buyers assume is universal and is not. The gap between local wages and local prices is wide: 6.9 times household income, in the top quarter of these counties. Its property rate, 1,768 per 100,000, sits in the middle of these counties. For prices at street level, see Bellingham, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
6. Lewis County
At 190 violent offenses per 100,000, Lewis sits in the middle range of the places on this list. The median comparable US county records 245, so it is quieter than most of the country too. Buyers there paid a median of $428,990, some 88 percent of the level across the counties measured. Its property rate is among the lowest here, 1,203 per 100,000, or 1.0 times the median comparable US county. The median rental listing asks $1,695 a month. Resideline publishes a separate page for Centralia, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
7. Chelan County
Chelan's violent crime rate is 199 per 100,000 residents, the middle range among the Washington counties Resideline can measure. The median comparable US county records 245, so it is quieter than most of the country too. Homes there closed at a median of $558,500, about 115 percent of the median across this list. Buying there takes 7.0 times the median household income, a heavier lift than most of this list. Its property rate is among the lowest here, 1,145 per 100,000, or 1.0 times the median comparable US county. The median rental listing asks $1,950 a month.
8. Kitsap County
Kitsap records 206 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, which places it in the middle range of the Washington counties measured here. The median comparable US county records 245, so it is quieter than most of the country too. Buyers there paid a median of $557,925, some 114 percent of the level across the counties measured. Against local incomes it is among the most affordable counties measured, at 5.2 times median household income. Asking rents of $2,500 a month against that price put it in the top quarter of this list for gross return. Property offenses run at 1,411 per 100,000, in the middle of this list. For prices at street level, see Bremerton, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
9. Clallam County
Police in Clallam reported 216 violent offenses per 100,000 people, putting it in the middle range of this list. That is close to the median comparable US county, which records 245. The median closed price, $460,000, sits near the center of the counties measured. At $2,200 a month in asking rent, the gross return here is in the top quarter of the counties measured. Property crime is low, at 1,248 per 100,000, the bottom quarter of this list and 1.1 times the median comparable US county. Resideline publishes a separate page for Sequim, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
10. Benton County
At 246 violent offenses per 100,000, Benton sits in the middle range of the places on this list. That is close to the median comparable US county, which records 245. Homes changed hands at a median $425,000, around 87 percent of what the rest of this list recorded. A home costs 4.7 times the median household income there, the lowest quarter of this list. Property crime is the higher of its two figures at 1,907 per 100,000, the top quarter of this list and 1.6 times the median comparable US county. The median rental listing asks $1,895 a month. For prices at street level, see Pasco, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
11. Thurston County
Thurston's violent crime rate is 252 per 100,000 residents, the middle range among the Washington counties Resideline can measure. That is close to the median comparable US county, which records 245. Homes there closed at a median of $515,000, close to the middle of this list. At $2,400 a month in asking rent, the gross return here is in the top quarter of the counties measured. Property offenses run at 1,336 per 100,000, in the middle of this list. Resideline publishes a separate page for Olympia, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
12. Mason County
Mason records 254 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, which places it in the middle range of the Washington counties measured here. That is close to the median comparable US county, which records 245. Homes changed hands at a median $400,000, around 82 percent of what the rest of this list recorded. A home costs 4.8 times the median household income there, the lowest quarter of this list. At $2,100 a month in asking rent, the gross return here is in the top quarter of the counties measured. Property crime is low, at 1,015 per 100,000, the bottom quarter of this list and 0.9 times the median comparable US county. For prices at street level, see Shelton, the market with the most tracked closings in this county's ZIP codes.
Does safety set the price in Washington?
There is a gap here that income alone does not close. The safest third of these counties runs 35 percent above the highest-crime third on price, while earning only 5 percent more. Our national model needs density as well as income to explain gaps like this one, and this page does not test density, so treat the rest as unexplained rather than as a crime premium.
It is the same pattern our national study found across 688 counties, where crime stopped predicting prices once income was accounted for. The method is set out in our study, Does Crime Actually Lower Home Prices?.
That is a county-level result. Within a county, research at the scale of a block or a neighborhood finds that violent crime does lower the value of the homes nearest to it, so use these figures to compare counties, not streets.
Where safety and affordability overlap in Washington
Two of the 6 safest counties on this list also cost no more than the list's median once prices are set against local incomes: Cowlitz (168 violent per 100,000, a home at 5.2 times median household income); Lewis (190 violent per 100,000, a home at 5.5 times median household income). Against what households there earn, those are the counties where a low crime rate is not being charged for.
The large counties
Four counties here have more than 500,000 residents. Their median violent rate is 355 per 100,000 against 211 for the smaller counties on the list, and the quietest of them is Snohomish at 157. It closes homes at a median of $710,000.
The counties we cannot rank
Larger Washington places are missing from the table above. Every one with more than 150,000 residents is listed here with the reason.
- •Clark, with about 527,000 residents, reports 73 percent of its population through the FBI program, below the 90 percent we require.
How to read this list
These figures describe whole areas. A quiet town and a rough district an hour apart carry the same number here, so the ranking is a starting point for a search rather than a description of any particular street.
Prices and rents are as of September 9, 2026, from closings and rental listings Resideline tracks over the previous 12 months; a price is shown where at least 100 closings were tracked and a rent where at least 50 listings were. Rent figures are the median asking rent on listings, not lease figures. Crime is the 2025 FBI Crime Data Explorer release, measured for the whole county over the months each agency reported, and violent crime means murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Household income is the Census SAIPE 2024 estimate of the county's median household income; population is the Census 2024 estimate. Where this page compares a rate with the median comparable US county, that figure (245 violent and 1188 property offenses per 100,000) is the median across the 874 US counties with at least 50,000 residents whose agencies reported on 90 percent or more of them for the year.
Sources and related pages
- •Crime: FBI Crime Data Explorer, agency-level offense counts for 2025, aggregated by county over the months each agency reported.
- •Income: Census SAIPE 2024, county median household income.
- •Population: Census county population estimates, vintage 2024.
- •Prices and rents: Resideline's tracked closings and rental listings, 12 months to September 2026.
- •Related: Safest counties by state; Does crime actually lower home prices?; Washington housing market; Safest counties in Idaho; Safest counties in Oregon.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the safest county in Washington?
Of the 18 Washington counties measured here, Island County records the lowest violent crime rate at 78 offenses per 100,000 residents, against 245 for the median comparable US county. Homes there closed at a median of $599,625 over the last 12 months.
Is this every county in Washington?
No. It covers 18 of the state's 39 counties, the ones where police agencies report at least 90 percent of the population to the FBI, the area has at least 50,000 residents, and the resulting rate falls inside the sanity bounds we apply. Whether Resideline has enough sales there decides only whether a price is shown. The larger places that miss those bars are listed on the page with the reason.
Does a lower crime rate mean higher home prices?
Here the price gap is larger than the income gap, so income alone does not explain the raw difference. Comparing the safest third of these counties with the highest-crime third, the median closed price is 35 percent higher and household income 5 percent higher. Across 688 US counties we found that once income and other county characteristics are controlled for, a county's crime rate stops predicting its home prices. At the scale of a block, the research says violent crime does lower nearby values.
Is this crime rate for my neighborhood?
No. The FBI publishes these figures for whole counties, so every part of a county carries the same number here, from its densest district to its farmland. It is useful for narrowing a search and not a substitute for looking at a specific address.
Are these rents asking rents or lease rents?
They are the median asking rent on rental listings in the county over the last 12 months. That is what landlords advertised, a guide to the market rather than a lease figure.
About the author
Jeffrey Batista
Jeffrey Batista is the founder of Resideline, a real estate technology company building institutional grade valuation and investment analysis tools for real estate investors.
A software engineer with more than 10 years of experience, Jeffrey has worked across full stack development, infrastructure, data engineering, machine learning, and large scale systems. He left his engineering career to build Resideline full time.
Jeffrey is also a real estate investor with nearly a decade of hands on experience buying, renovating, managing, and analyzing residential properties. His experience on both sides of the industry, as an engineer and an investor, led him to build Resideline after seeing how fragmented and outdated many of the tools available to individual investors were.
Today, he leads the development of Resideline's proprietary data infrastructure, automated valuation models, rental analytics, and investment underwriting technology.