City · Stevens County, Washington

Chewelah, Washington

Chewelah is a city in Stevens County, Washington, part of the Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA metro area. It has 2,606 residents. Chewelah, Washington has a quality-of-life score of 20 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,561 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Washington it ranks #373 of 395 cities and towns. It ranks best on preventable hospital stays (low), violent crime rate (low) and voter turnout (high). It ranks worst on firearm deaths (high), flu vaccinations (low) and pharmacies (low).

20Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,561 of 15,651 cities and towns
Washington: #373 of 395 in WA
Population: 2,606 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 882.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 5312140

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 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.

Safety52#7,568/15,637
Economy32#10,653/15,631
Housing46#8,067/14,977
Health21#12,336/15,609
Healthcare28#11,250/15,650
Environment22#12,025/15,453
Education20#12,513/15,649
Infrastructure36#9,995/15,650
Community35#10,170/15,651
Leisure & amenities29#11,172/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Chewelah, Washington ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Stevens 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

Preventable hospital stays · low1,133 /100k
99/100Washington 1,865 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStevens County value
Violent crime rate · low87 /100k
89/100Washington 284 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationStevens County value
Voter turnout · high75.6%
88/100Washington 70.8%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionStevens County value
Property crime rate · low549 /100k
87/100Washington 1,975 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationStevens County value
Average commute time · low16.1 min
86/100Washington 26.6 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Median Air Quality Index · low35
86/100Washington 382025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyStevens County value

Weaknesses

Firearm deaths · high34.8 /100k
1/100Washington 11.9 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataStevens County value
Flu vaccinations · low24.0%
2/100Washington 43.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStevens County value
Pharmacies · low0.6 /10k
5/100Washington 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsStevens County value
Suicide rate · high26.6 /100k
7/100Washington 17.0 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataStevens County value
Drought exposure · high89%
7/100Washington 54%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAStevens County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low47.9%
9/100Washington 85.6%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStevens County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
33.7% (2015-2019) → 50.2% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
72.8% (2015-2019) → 88.2% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$39,618 (2015-2019) → $54,167 (2020-2024)
+37%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
New homes permittedWorsening
7.7 /1k (2021) → 5.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−35%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Average commute timeImproving
22.1 min (2015-2019) → 16.1 min (2020-2024)
−27%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Income inequality (Gini index)Worsening
0.442 (2015-2019) → 0.526 (2020-2024)
+19%5 yearsCensus table B19083US 0.482 → 0.483

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, Chewelah, Washington improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 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.

Improved2

Broadband+15 points72.8% → 88.2%
Household income+37%$39,618 → $54,167

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Chewelah, Washington between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	22.1 min2015-2019	16.1 min2020-2024	−6.0 min	Within the margin of error	93%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.8%2015-2019	19.3%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Broadband subscriptions	72.8%2015-2019	88.2%2020-2024	+15 points	Improved	81%
Effective property tax rate	0.76%2015-2019	0.70%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	26%
High school diploma or higher	87.7%2015-2019	88.9%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Home price to income ratio	4.2×2015-2019	4.9×2020-2024	+0.7×	Within the margin of error	33%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4422015-2019	0.5262020-2024	+0.084	Within the margin of error	7%
Median household income	$39,6182015-2019	$54,1672020-2024	+37%	Improved	68%
Poverty rate	17.4%2015-2019	16.8%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Rent as share of income	27.0%2015-2019	30.1%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Rent-burdened households	33.7%2015-2019	50.2%2020-2024	+16 points	Within the margin of error	12%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.0%2015-2019	9.5%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	40%

“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 Chewelah, Washington five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Chewelah, 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, Chewelah, Washington itself moved −4.9 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

2,606 residents (±25)

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

1,184 households (±101)

Chewelah, Washington
Washington share

Under $25k17%†197
$25k–50k28%†329
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,184 households (±101)

Chewelah, Washington
Washington share

Own68%800
Rent32%384

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+9.6 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,038 workers (±155)

Chewelah, Washington
Washington share

Drive alone73%762
Carpool9.6%†100
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 Spokane-Spokane Valley, 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 Stevens County, the county holding most of Chewelah's residents.

Stevens County has 943 employer establishments, 193 for every 10,000 residents (0.78× the US rate of 248; 0.75× Washington's), with 8,423 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,662. The Census Bureau also counts 3,068 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 943; 3,068 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 193; US 248 · Washington 258
Paid employees: 8,423
Average annual pay: $49,662; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	81	16.6	1.07×About typical	283	$55,251	260
Construction of buildings	67	13.7	1.81×More than typical	184	$83,658	147
Restaurants and other eating places	56	11.5	0.62×Fewer than typical	615	$23,491	13
Ambulatory health care services	51	10.4	0.50×Fewer than typical	864	$49,587	125
Truck transportation	41	8.4	1.66×More than typical	183	$62,541	81
Lessors of real estate	36	7.4	0.60×Fewer than typical	71	$37,338	278
Religious organizations	36	7.4	1.33×More than typical	113	$21,389	—
Services to buildings and dwellings	27	5.5	0.82×About typical	139	$31,511	162
Automotive repair and maintenance	24	4.9	0.97×About typical	100	$54,300	48
Building equipment contractors	23	4.7	0.78×Fewer than typical	140	$53,679	34
Full-service restaurants	22	4.5	0.59×Fewer than typical	181	$26,011	5
Building finishing contractors	21	4.3	1.13×About typical	42	$44,524	64

Rank places for an industry Open Stevens County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 48,895 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Stevens 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.

Chewelah, Washington is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Michael BaumgartnerR-WA-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 2.4%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

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

Stevens County37100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA64

Other cities and towns in Stevens 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/5312140

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends