Census-designated place · Walla Walla County, Washington

Garrett, Washington

Garrett is a census-designated place in Walla Walla County, Washington, part of the Walla Walla, WA metro area. It has 1,697 residents. Garrett, Washington has a quality-of-life score of 51 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,673 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Washington it ranks #251 of 395 cities and towns. It ranks best on median Air Quality Index (low), average commute time (low) and public EV charging ports (high). It ranks worst on rent as share of income (high), math scores (low) and pharmacies (low).

51Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,673 of 15,651 cities and towns
Washington: #251 of 395 in WA
Population: 1,697 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 651.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 5326245

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.

Safety36#10,052/15,637
Economy68#5,035/15,631
Housing23#11,566/14,977
Health51#7,632/15,609
Healthcare65#5,519/15,650
Environment55#6,991/15,453
Education30#10,886/15,649
Infrastructure76#3,719/15,650
Community46#8,458/15,651
Leisure & amenities61#6,147/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Median Air Quality Index · low28
95/100Washington 382025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyWalla Walla County value
Average commute time · low11.1 min
91/100Washington 26.6 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Public EV charging ports · high14.6 /10k
90/100Washington 11.2 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyWalla Walla County value
Primary care physicians · high112 /100k
88/100Washington 85 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWalla Walla County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,925 /100k
87/100Washington 1,865 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWalla Walla County value
Grocery stores · high2.4 /10k
87/100Washington 1.8 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWalla Walla County value

Weaknesses

Rent as share of income · high51.0%
2/100Washington 30.0%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Math scores · low2.48
3/100Washington 2.91United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWalla Walla County value
Pharmacies · low0.5 /10k
3/100Washington 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWalla Walla County value
Drought exposure · high92%
5/100Washington 54%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAWalla Walla County value
Reading scores · low2.66
7/100Washington 2.98United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWalla Walla 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 dataWalla Walla County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,280 (2015-2019) → 1,697 (2020-2024)
+33%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
27.0% (2015-2019) → 51.0% (2020-2024)
+24 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
39.0% (2015-2019) → 57.4% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
High school diploma or higherImproving
82.4% (2015-2019) → 96.7% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$70,184 (2015-2019) → $118,609 (2020-2024)
+69%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateWorsening
0.0% (2015-2019) → 9.3% (2020-2024)
+9.3 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, Garrett, Washington improved on 1 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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.

Improved1

Household income+69%$70,184 → $118,609

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Garrett, Washington between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	12.2 min2015-2019	11.1 min2020-2024	−1.1 min	Within the margin of error	61%
Bachelor's degree or higher	28.0%2015-2019	33.4%2020-2024	+5.4 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Broadband subscriptions	88.0%2015-2019	91.5%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Effective property tax rate	1.10%2015-2019	1.08%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	19%
High school diploma or higher	82.4%2015-2019	96.7%2020-2024	+14 points	Within the margin of error	98%
Home price to income ratio	3.8×2015-2019	3.1×2020-2024	−0.7×	Within the margin of error	96%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3572015-2019	0.3592020-2024	+0.002	Within the margin of error	49%
Median household income	$70,1842015-2019	$118,6092020-2024	+69%	Improved	94%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%

“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 Garrett, Washington five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Garrett, 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, Garrett, Washington itself moved +10.9 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

1,697 residents (±476)

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

741 households (±164)

Garrett, Washington
Washington share

Under $25k17%†125
$25k–50k8.6%†64
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

741 households (±164)

Garrett, Washington
Washington share

Own85%632
Rent15%†109

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

865 workers (±255)

Garrett, Washington
Washington share

Drive alone79%†686
Carpool8.8%†76
Public transit

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 Walla Walla, 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 Walla Walla County, the county holding most of Garrett's residents.

Walla Walla County has 1,491 employer establishments, 241 for every 10,000 residents (0.97× the US rate of 248; 0.94× Washington's), with 21,372 paid employees at an average annual pay of $53,071. The Census Bureau also counts 3,800 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,491; 3,800 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 241; US 248 · Washington 258
Paid employees: 21,372
Average annual pay: $53,071; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	113	18.3	1.18×About typical	889	$66,470	161
Restaurants and other eating places	111	18	0.98×About typical	1,728	$27,339	11
Ambulatory health care services	107	17.3	0.83×About typical	1,404	$71,475	198
Construction of buildings	66	10.7	1.41×More than typical	476	$50,716	151
Lessors of real estate	64	10.4	0.84×About typical	198	$46,237	424
Services to buildings and dwellings	63	10.2	1.51×More than typical	282	$42,876	163
Full-service restaurants	53	8.6	1.12×About typical	815	$31,145	5
Building equipment contractors	37	6	1.00×About typical	499	$78,619	24
Offices of other health practitioners	37	6	0.99×About typical	222	$46,811	109
Limited-service restaurants	36	5.8	0.73×Fewer than typical	676	$24,598	—
Landscaping services	33	5.3	1.53×More than typical	109	$50,312	55
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	29	4.7	1.49×More than typical	188	$53,340	22

Rank places for an industry Open Walla Walla County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 61,745 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 $1,536 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Garrett, Washington: $0.91 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $1,536
Per resident: $0.91; US $1,995
Sole-source: 100%; 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

Department of the Army$1,536100%

Top recipients

CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF COLVILLE RESERVATION$1,536100%

Spending by fiscal year

125.2FY2018
113.9FY2019
41.3FY2020
70.6FY2021
-44.1FY2022
1.1KFY2024
-280.7FY2025
1.5KFY2026

Top industries (NAICS)

Scientific research and development services · 5417$1,536100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 Garrett, Washington, so they do not add up across cities.

Garrett, Washington's figures are part of those of Walla Walla County, WA ($36.8M 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: Garrett is mostly in Walla Walla County.

See federal money in Walla Walla 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.

Garrett, 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.

Walla Walla County60100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Walla Walla, WA65

Other cities and towns in Walla Walla 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/5326245

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends