Town · San Juan County, Washington

Friday Harbor, Washington

Friday Harbor is a town in San Juan County, Washington. It has 2,728 residents. Friday Harbor, Washington has a quality-of-life score of 93 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,128 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Washington it ranks #4 of 395 cities and towns. It ranks best on life expectancy (high), arts, entertainment and recreation (high) and grocery stores (high). It ranks worst on home price to income ratio (high), income inequality (Gini index) (high) and child care cost burden (high).

93Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,128 of 15,651 cities and towns
Washington: #4 of 395 in WA
Population: 2,728 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,247.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 5325615

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 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.

Safety94#867/15,637
Economy57#6,706/15,631
Housing41#8,775/14,977
Health79#3,330/15,609
Healthcare69#4,859/15,650
Environment96#637/15,453
Education73#4,217/15,649
Infrastructure77#3,541/15,650
Community97#497/15,651
Leisure & amenities100#5/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Friday Harbor, Washington ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “San Juan 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

Life expectancy · high86.5 yrs
100/100Washington 78.7 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSan Juan County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high21.5 /10k
100/100Washington 4.4 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSan Juan County value
Grocery stores · high5.9 /10k
100/100Washington 1.8 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSan Juan County value
Average commute time · low9.9 min
100/100Washington 26.6 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Preventable hospital stays · low1,084 /100k
99/100Washington 1,865 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSan Juan County value
Restaurants and bars · high24.2 /10k
99/100Washington 9.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSan Juan County value

Weaknesses

Home price to income ratio · high7.1×
6/100Washington 5.8×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.519
9/100Washington 0.469United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Child care cost burden · high38.3%
13/100Washington 36.6%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSan Juan County value
Distance to an airport · high84 mi
16/100Washington 29 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauSan Juan County value
Suicide rate · high20.6 /100k
20/100Washington 17.0 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimateProvisional dataSan Juan County value
Depression · high26.0%
27/100Washington 25.5%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Trends

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

PopulationRising
2,426 (2015-2019) → 2,728 (2020-2024)
+12%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
5.8 /1k (2021) → 11.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+96%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
78.2% (2015-2019) → 92.0% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$53,676 (2015-2019) → $80,378 (2020-2024)
+50%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
45.4% (2015-2019) → 53.4% (2020-2024)
+8.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateWorsening
12.3% (2015-2019) → 20.3% (2020-2024)
+8 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, Friday Harbor, Washington improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 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.

Improved3

Uninsured−5.6 points13.5% → 7.9%
Household income+50%$53,676 → $80,378
Broadband+14 points78.2% → 92.0%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Friday Harbor, Washington between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	12.7 min2015-2019	9.9 min2020-2024	−2.7 min	Within the margin of error	77%
Bachelor's degree or higher	34.9%2015-2019	35.3%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Broadband subscriptions	78.2%2015-2019	92.0%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	76%
Child poverty rate	12.3%2015-2019	20.3%2020-2024	+8 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Effective property tax rate	0.53%2015-2019	0.56%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	13%
High school diploma or higher	91.5%2015-2019	93.5%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Home price to income ratio	6.4×2015-2019	7.1×2020-2024	+0.7×	Within the margin of error	39%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4632015-2019	0.5192020-2024	+0.056	Within the margin of error	14%
Median household income	$53,6762015-2019	$80,3782020-2024	+50%	Improved	84%
Poverty rate	13.8%2015-2019	12.8%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Rent as share of income	28.4%2015-2019	31.6%2020-2024	+3.2 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Rent-burdened households	45.4%2015-2019	53.4%2020-2024	+8.1 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Unemployment rate	3.3%2015-2019	2.7%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	62%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	13.5%2015-2019	7.9%2020-2024	−5.6 points	Improved	89%

“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 Friday Harbor, Washington five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Friday Harbor, 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, Friday Harbor, Washington itself moved −3.1 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

2,728 residents (±27)

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

1,227 households (±78)

Friday Harbor, Washington
Washington share

Under $25k20%248
$25k–50k15%179
$50k–75k13%†162

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,227 households (±78)

Friday Harbor, Washington
Washington share

Own59%724
Rent41%503

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+8.5 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,434 workers (±91)

Friday Harbor, Washington
Washington share

Drive alone65%928
Carpool12%†165
Public transit0.2%†

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 San Juan County, the county holding most of Friday Harbor's residents.

San Juan County has 1,040 employer establishments, 560 for every 10,000 residents (2.26× the US rate of 248; 2.17× Washington's), with 5,378 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,279. The Census Bureau also counts 2,765 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,040; 2,765 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 560; US 248 · Washington 258
Paid employees: 5,378
Average annual pay: $51,279; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	124	66.8	4.32×More than typical	403	$59,002	145
Construction of buildings	115	62	8.19×More than typical	455	$60,760	113
Lessors of real estate	59	31.8	2.58×More than typical	143	$49,483	327
Restaurants and other eating places	56	30.2	1.64×More than typical	405	$36,336	11
Services to buildings and dwellings	49	26.4	3.92×More than typical	162	$44,994	232
Ambulatory health care services	42	22.6	1.09×About typical	191	$54,812	155
Building finishing contractors	39	21	5.53×More than typical	97	$45,948	50
Full-service restaurants	37	19.9	2.60×More than typical	347	$35,536	7
Building equipment contractors	35	18.9	3.13×More than typical	128	$61,570	14
Landscaping services	34	18.3	5.23×More than typical	118	$48,034	106
Other specialty trade contractors	30	16.2	6.44×More than typical	136	$67,993	65
Traveler accommodation	29	15.6	8.66×More than typical	457	$55,396	39

Rank places for an industry Open San Juan County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 18,563 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 $38.8K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Friday Harbor, Washington: $14.23 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $38.8K; +162% vs FY2025
Per resident: $14.23; US $1,994
Sole-source: 53%; US 30%
Single offer: 45%; 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

National Aeronautics and Space Administration$13.7K35%
National Park Service$12.1K31%
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration$6,85518%
Department of the Navy$6,19616%
Bureau of Land Management$1,1342.9%

Top recipients

SPACE EXPLORATION ENGINEERING, LLC$13.7K35%
ROLLUDA ARCHITECTS, LLC$11.3K29%
THE WHALE MUSEUM$6,85518%
SMRU, LLC$6,19616%
XION CONSTRUCTION COMPANY L.L.C.$1,1342.9%

Spending by fiscal year

64.1KFY2017
72.6KFY2018
74.9KFY2019
17.9KFY2020
36.5KFY2021
235.6KFY2022
31.9KFY2023
24.4KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Scientific research and development services · 5417$26.8K69%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$10K26%
Building equipment contractors · 2382$1,1342.9%
Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$8882.3%

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 Friday Harbor, Washington, so they do not add up across cities.

Friday Harbor, Washington's figures are part of those of San Juan County, WA ($1.1M in FY2026), never added to them: 3.7% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Friday Harbor is mostly in San Juan County.

See federal money in San Juan 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.

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

House

Rick LarsenD-WA-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 3.3%

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.

San Juan County99100% of residents

Other cities and towns in San Juan County

Largest first.

Roche Harbor778

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/5325615

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends