How Does Spokane Compare to Other Similar Cities?

by Haydn Halsted

Today we review an article written by the Inlander, a local newspaper here in Spokane comparing the Spokane Metro area to other similarly sized metros and our surrounding major cities. How does Spokane stack up in these twenty different categories, let's find out!

METRO POPULATION

Ask anyone what being a Spokanite means, and you'll get as many different answers as there are people. But the numbers don't lie: We are whiter, poorer and less educated than many of our peer cities.

Ranking Spokane: To better understand the Inland Northwest, we measured it against other metro areas

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau

PERCENTAGE OF WHITE RESIDENTS AND FOREIGN-BORN RESIDENTS

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau

PERCENTAGE OF RESIDENTS 25 AND OLDER WITH A COLLEGE DEGREE

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau

PEOPLE PER SQUARE MILE

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau

MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau

PERCENTAGE POPULATION CHANGE

Everyone knows it: We're growing. In some ways, that's good. Our city is strengthened by new people, not to mention the taxes they pay. And while it's become more difficult to buy a house or afford rent, we avoided the biggest growth seen in Boise and, perhaps better, the recent shrinkage of Seattle and Portland.

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau

PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN HOME VALUE

Exactly zero people will be surprised to see that our home values outpaced nearly every other city in our list over the past five years, except Boise. But look at the last year and you'll see a cooldown of sorts, putting Spokane on par with all of our peer cities, except again for Boise, which saw its red-hot market go ice cold.

SOURCE: Federal Housing Finance Agency

MEDIAN RENT FOR ONE-BEDROOM APARTMENT

SOURCE: Zillow

ANNUAL DEATHS INVOLVING FENTANYL

Overdose death data isn't reported the same across the country, with some jurisdictions still finalizing recent data, and others lumping fentanyl-involved deaths with those involving other opioids. In some cases, suspected overdose deaths aren't differentiated by drug at all. The data below is an annual estimation using the most recent data we could find (data for Durham-Chapel Hill was not available.)

SOURCES: Local health departments, medical examiners, health data websites

CLOSEST SKI AREA TO CITY CENTER

TALLEST BUILDING

It seems like every year a developer files plans with the city to build a new skyscraper downtown. (The barren lots on the edge of the University District are a popular spot for these.) But our tallest building was built more than 40 years ago. Of course, that doesn't count the fictional 78-story GNB Tower that was built in Spokane in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother.

PRICE OF A BUS TICKET

Like every other transit agency, STA was hit hard by COVID. Yet transit officials say ridership has bounced back to 80 percent of pre-pandemic performance, and its City Line system is on pace to begin operating this summer. Still, the cost of a two-hour fare knocks on the upper range of fares. Unless, that is, you're under 18; then riding a bus in Spokane is free.