Census-designated place · Spokane County, Washington

Fairchild AFB, Washington

Fairchild AFB is a census-designated place in Spokane County, Washington, part of the Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA metro area. It has 2,931 residents. Fairchild AFB, Washington has a quality-of-life score of 58 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #6,640 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Washington it ranks #204 of 395 cities and towns. It ranks best on average commute time (low), natural hazard risk (low) and mental health providers (high). It ranks worst on drug overdose deaths (high), property crime rate (high) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (high).

58Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #6,640 of 15,651 cities and towns
Washington: #204 of 395 in WA
Population: 2,931 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 442.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 5322955

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 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.

Safety26#11,579/15,637
Economy66#5,319/15,631
Housing—
Health46#8,401/15,609
Healthcare70#4,625/15,650
Environment27#11,321/15,453
Education54#7,216/15,649
Infrastructure94#978/15,650
Community56#6,866/15,651
Leisure & amenities50#7,763/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Average commute time · low9.7 min
100/100Washington 26.6 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Natural hazard risk · low1.1
99/100Washington 63.52025Federal Emergency Management AgencySpokane County value
Mental health providers · high713 /100k
97/100Washington 568 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSpokane County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.303
97/100Washington 0.469United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
New business applications · high25.4 /1k
96/100Washington 17.8 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauSpokane County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,586 /100k
95/100Washington 1,865 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSpokane County value

Weaknesses

Drug overdose deaths · high43.9 /100k
2/100Washington 32.7 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataSpokane County value
Property crime rate · high2,938 /100k
2/100Washington 1,975 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationSpokane County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high9.7 µg/m³
4/100Washington 8.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySpokane County value
Unemployment rate · high11.0%
7/100Washington 4.7%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Pharmacies · low1.0 /10k
13/100Washington 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSpokane County value
Suicide rate · high21.9 /100k
15/100Washington 17.0 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataSpokane County value

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
3,336 (2015-2019) → 2,931 (2020-2024)
−12%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
34.3% (2015-2019) → 56.3% (2020-2024)
+22 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
24.0% (2015-2019) → 32.6% (2020-2024)
+8.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
32.4% (2015-2019) → 39.8% (2020-2024)
+7.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Child poverty rateImproving
9.6% (2015-2019) → 3.4% (2020-2024)
−6.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsWorsening
97.3% (2015-2019) → 91.2% (2020-2024)
−6.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, Fairchild AFB, Washington improved on 0 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 8 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined2

Rent burden+22 points34.3% → 56.3%
Rent / income+8.6 points24.0% → 32.6%

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Fairchild AFB, Washington between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	9.7 min2015-2019	9.7 min2020-2024	+0.1 min	Within the margin of error	46%
Bachelor's degree or higher	32.4%2015-2019	39.8%2020-2024	+7.4 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Broadband subscriptions	97.3%2015-2019	91.2%2020-2024	−6.1 points	Within the margin of error	2%
High school diploma or higher	98.2%2015-2019	100.0%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Within the margin of error	56%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3142015-2019	0.3032020-2024	−0.010	Within the margin of error	60%
Median household income	$67,6562015-2019	$69,9172020-2024	+3.3%	Within the margin of error	10%
Poverty rate	7.1%2015-2019	3.3%2020-2024	−3.8 points	Within the margin of error	74%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	24.0%2015-2019	32.6%2020-2024	+8.6 points	Declined	12%
Rent-burdened households	34.3%2015-2019	56.3%2020-2024	+22 points	Declined	7%

“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 Fairchild AFB, Washington five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Fairchild AFB, 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, Fairchild AFB, Washington itself moved −21.1 points in standing on average over the same 8 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

2,931 residents (±444)

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

750 households (±142)

Fairchild AFB, Washington
Washington share

Under $25k2.9%†22
$25k–50k21%†157
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

750 households (±142)

Fairchild AFB, Washington
Washington share

Own0.0%0
Rent100%750

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,672 workers (±240)

Fairchild AFB, Washington
Washington share

Drive alone64%1,073
Carpool11%†183
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 Spokane County, the county holding most of Fairchild AFB's residents.

Spokane County has 14,426 employer establishments, 261 for every 10,000 residents (1.05× the US rate of 248; 1.01× Washington's), with 218,708 paid employees at an average annual pay of $58,034. The Census Bureau also counts 38,809 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 14,426; 38,809 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 261; US 248 · Washington 258
Paid employees: 218,708
Average annual pay: $58,034; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	1,199	21.7	1.40×More than typical	9,667	$69,178	1,978
Ambulatory health care services	1,131	20.5	0.98×About typical	25,628	$66,494	2,043
Restaurants and other eating places	1,001	18.1	0.99×About typical	17,337	$26,803	106
Lessors of real estate	812	14.7	1.19×About typical	3,463	$55,372	4,923
Construction of buildings	660	11.9	1.58×More than typical	3,681	$74,942	1,142
Services to buildings and dwellings	468	8.5	1.26×More than typical	3,503	$44,117	1,567
Offices of other health practitioners	403	7.3	1.20×About typical	2,491	$46,997	1,159
Full-service restaurants	396	7.2	0.93×About typical	7,639	$31,840	43
Real estate agents and brokers	370	6.7	1.38×More than typical	625	$60,933	1,214
Limited-service restaurants	367	6.6	0.83×About typical	7,185	$22,761	39
Building equipment contractors	350	6.3	1.05×About typical	4,218	$72,904	239
Building finishing contractors	325	5.9	1.55×More than typical	2,164	$57,632	764

Rank places for an industry Open Spokane County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 552,475 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 $51.9M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Fairchild AFB, Washington: $17,699 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $51.9M; −60% vs FY2025
Per resident: $17,699; US $1,994
Sole-source: 30%; US 30%
Single offer: 3.2%; 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

Top recipients

BHATE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATES, INC.$8.8M17%
BRICE ENGINEERING, LLC$6.7M13%
DYNAMIC-HHS JV, LLC$4.7M9.1%
BURTON CONSTRUCTION, INC.$4.4M8.6%
SKOOKUM EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS$3.3M6.3%

Spending by fiscal year

54.9MFY2017
54.9MFY2018
74.2MFY2019
75MFY2020
79.9MFY2021
71.8MFY2022
68MFY2023
127.7M

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$22.2M43%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$9.2M18%
Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$7.2M14%
Commercial and industrial machinery and equipment repair and maintenance · 8113$1.6M3.1%
Other support services · 5619$1.5M2.9%
Offices of physicians · 6211

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Fairchild AFB, Washington

CONSTRUCT CONSOLIDATED TOTAL FORCE INTEGRATION (TFI) BASE OPERATIONS FACILITY, FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, SPOKANE, WA.$54.3M
GARCO CONSTRUCTION, INC.· Spokane County, WA· Construction & real property· Sep 24, 2024 – May 15, 2026· W912DW24C0021
REPAIR FUEL TANKS AND FACILITIES AT FAIRCHILD AFB, WA, SKY HARBOR ANGB, AZ AND TUCSON ANGB, AZ$23.1M
BHATE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSOCIATES, INC.· Spokane County, WA· Construction & real property· Sep 29, 2021 – Apr 10, 2026· FA890321F0133
FA462024F0027 GJKZ1049455, ADAL FLIGHT SIMULATOR FACILITY, B2048$8.2M
NATIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN CONSTRUCTION, INC.· Spokane County, WA· Construction & real property· Jan 30, 2024 – Feb 5, 2026· FA462024F0027

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 Fairchild AFB, Washington, so they do not add up across cities.

Fairchild AFB, Washington's figures are part of those of Spokane County, WA ($206.8M in FY2026), never added to them: 25% of that total.

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

See federal money in Spokane 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.

Fairchild AFB, 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.

Spokane County63100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA64

Other cities and towns in Spokane 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/5322955

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends