Census-designated place · Snohomish County, Washington

Chain Lake, Washington

Chain Lake is a census-designated place in Snohomish County, Washington, part of the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area. It has 4,950 residents. Chain Lake, Washington has a quality-of-life score of 77 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,650 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Washington it ranks #86 of 395 cities and towns. It ranks best on child poverty rate (low), hot days (low) and physical inactivity (low). It ranks worst on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (high), comfortable days (low) and students per teacher (high).

77High

Quality-of-life score: #3,650 of 15,651 cities and towns
Washington: #86 of 395 in WA
Population: 4,950 (2020-2024)
Land area: 11 mi²
Density: 453.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 5311325

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety73#4,254/15,637
Economy96#558/15,631
Housing84#2,358/14,977
Health76#3,807/15,609
Healthcare67#5,114/15,650
Environment25#11,493/15,453
Education61#6,042/15,649
Infrastructure63#5,724/15,650
Community58#6,502/15,651
Leisure & amenities43#8,971/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Chain Lake, Washington ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Snohomish County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Child poverty rate · low0.0%
98/100Washington 11.5%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Hot days · low1 days
98/100Washington 13 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSnohomish County value
Physical inactivity · low13.8%
98/100Washington 19.0%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Rent as share of income · low17.4%
97/100Washington 30.0%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Median household income · high$161,286
96/100Washington $99,309United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Poverty rate · low2.8%
94/100Washington 10.0%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001

Weaknesses

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high9.3 µg/m³
6/100Washington 8.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySnohomish County value
Comfortable days · low23.2%
9/100Washington 25.2%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSnohomish County value
Students per teacher · high18.7×
11/100Washington 17.9×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsSnohomish County value
Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
12/100Washington 0.5 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesSnohomish County value
Drug overdose deaths · high27.6 /100k
13/100Washington 32.7 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataSnohomish County value
Mammography screening · low38.0%
13/100Washington 41.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSnohomish County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
4,522 (2015-2019) → 4,950 (2020-2024)
+9.5%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
46.4% (2015-2019) → 9.8% (2020-2024)
−37 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
29.4% (2015-2019) → 17.4% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$113,056 (2015-2019) → $161,286 (2020-2024)
+43%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
34.8% (2015-2019) → 41.2% (2020-2024)
+6.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Child poverty rateImproving
4.4% (2015-2019) → 0.0% (2020-2024)
−4.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Chain Lake, Washington improved on 1 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Household income+43%$113,056 → $161,286

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Chain Lake, Washington between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	42.5 min2015-2019	38.4 min2020-2024	−4.1 min	Within the margin of error	86%
Bachelor's degree or higher	34.8%2015-2019	41.2%2020-2024	+6.4 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Broadband subscriptions	91.3%2015-2019	91.5%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Effective property tax rate	1.09%2015-2019	0.73%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Little change	81%
High school diploma or higher	94.8%2015-2019	96.3%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Home price to income ratio	4.5×2015-2019	5.4×2020-2024	+0.9×	Within the margin of error	27%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3982015-2019	0.4352020-2024	+0.037	Within the margin of error	23%
Median household income	$113,0562015-2019	$161,2862020-2024	+43%	Improved	77%
Rent as share of income	29.4%2015-2019	17.4%2020-2024	−12 points	Within the margin of error	95%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	3.7%2015-2019	5.1%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	30%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Chain Lake, Washington five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Chain Lake, Washington in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Chain Lake, Washington itself moved +2.6 points in standing on average over the same 9 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

4,950 residents (±844)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

1,708 households (±262)

Chain Lake, Washington
Washington share

Under $25k5.2%†89
$25k–50k4.3%†73
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

1,708 households (±262)

Chain Lake, Washington
Washington share

Own89%1,516
Rent11%†192

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

2,634 workers (±496)

Chain Lake, Washington
Washington share

Drive alone63%1,648
Carpool5.7%†151
Public transit0.0%0

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Snohomish County, the county holding most of Chain Lake's residents.

Snohomish County has 20,258 employer establishments, 239 for every 10,000 residents (0.96× the US rate of 248; 0.93× Washington's), with 283,649 paid employees at an average annual pay of $70,427. The Census Bureau also counts 60,065 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 20,258; 60,065 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 239; US 248 · Washington 258
Paid employees: 283,649
Average annual pay: $70,427; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Snohomish County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	2,515	29.6	1.92×More than typical	21,245	$76,963	3,108
Restaurants and other eating places	1,528	18	0.98×About typical	23,054	$29,647	266
Ambulatory health care services	1,420	16.7	0.80×About typical	27,226	$57,326	2,700
Construction of buildings	1,176	13.9	1.83×More than typical	5,271	$76,112	1,859
Lessors of real estate	1,097	12.9	1.05×About typical	3,070	$60,342	5,584
Building finishing contractors	862	10.2	2.67×More than typical	5,386	$66,021	1,374
Services to buildings and dwellings	811	9.6	1.42×More than typical	5,849	$49,455	3,039
Building equipment contractors	661	7.8	1.29×More than typical	6,732	$89,627	387
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	659	7.8	2.46×More than typical	6,438	$72,174	424
Full-service restaurants	633	7.5	0.97×About typical	9,850	$35,114	83
Limited-service restaurants	580	6.8	0.85×About typical	9,664	$26,239	130
Offices of other health practitioners	566	6.7	1.10×About typical	3,496	$52,632	1,511

Rank places for an industry Open Snohomish County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 848,363 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $3,979 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Chain Lake, Washington: $0.80 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $3,979; −80% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0.80; US $1,994
Sole-source: 7.8%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Federal Acquisition Service$1,88047%
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration$1,19630%
Defense Logistics Agency$59315%
Agricultural Research Service$2446.1%
Drug Enforcement Administration$66.361.7%

Top recipients

CALIFORNIA INDUSTRIAL FACILITIES RESOURCES, INC.$2,47362%
SUNBACKER FIBERGLASS INC$1,86047%
BMT - USA, LLC$2446.1%
RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL INC$66.361.7%
NORTHWEST ZOOPATH, P.C.-$6640.0%

Spending by fiscal year

624KFY2017
746.1KFY2018
1MFY2019
-118KFY2020
280.9KFY2021
18.2KFY2022
116.1KFY2023
-8.7KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Architectural and structural metals manufacturing · 3323$1,88047%
Plastics product manufacturing · 3261$1,86047%
Other textile product mills · 3149$59315%
Water, sewage and other systems · 2213$2446.1%
Electronic and precision equipment repair and maintenance · 8112$60.391.5%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Chain Lake, Washington, so they do not add up across cities.

Chain Lake, Washington's figures are part of those of Snohomish County, WA ($330.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Chain Lake is mostly in Snohomish County.

See federal money in Snohomish County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Chain Lake, Washington is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Maria CantwellD-

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Snohomish County76100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA82

Other cities and towns in Snohomish County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/5311325

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends