Counties / Washington / Wahkiakum County

Wahkiakum County, WA

FIPS 53069 · population 4,658 · outside every metro area

$405k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$405k
▲ 3.8% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$853
occupied-unit survey; not current asking rent
Census ACS · surveyed
Gross yield
n/a
gross yield cannot be computed without measured market rent
requires both measured price and measured rent
HUD 2-bed standard
$1,137
the Section 8 payment standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

The annual signals disagree
FHFA five-year cumulative+53.9%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+3.8%FHFA HPI2025−1.5%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$397k
Surveyed gross rent$853
Rent burden 30%+77.4%
Median year built1978
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
6.7%vacant
2,250estimated housing units
Occupied tenure16.8% renter
owner 83.2%renter 16.8%
Structure mix80.7% single-family
Single-family 80.7%20+ units 0.0%Mobile home 12.2%Other 7.1%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs707▼ 2.6% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments131annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$931▲ 7.4% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorTrade, transportation, and utilitiesn/a of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS−2.6%WEEKLY WAGE+7.4%Trade, transportation, and utilitiesn/a
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

Wahkiakum County is a price-without-cash-flow question rather than a clear acquisition screen. Zillow’s county median home value was $405,190 in 2026-06, up 3.83% year over year, while FHFA’s 2025 annual repeat-transaction HPI fell 1.46%. These differently dated and differently constructed measures cannot be combined; their disagreement warrants closed-sale comp verification and caution for buyers relying on headline appreciation.

02Housing economics

No county market asking rent is published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD’s two-bedroom FMR of $1,137 per month is a payment standard, not evidence of asking rent, and cannot fill that gap. Carrying costs include a 0.60% effective property-tax rate and $2,392 median annual tax, but the record does not connect either figure to a specific asset. Underwriting needs property-level assessment data, achievable rent, and operating costs.

03Demand & competition

Realtor.com’s 2026-06 MLS evidence describes a slower visible listing market, not closed-sale demand: median marketing time was 81 days, 22.91% of listings had reductions, and the pending-to-active ratio was 17.72%. Tax-return migration was net positive by 47 households, while incoming movers reported average AGI $6,652 above outgoing movers. Those are limited county-level demand signals rather than tenant or buyer qualification evidence. The 0% investor share means no reported investor purchases among 39 total purchases.

04Risk & next checks

The 2025 QCEW annual covered-employment measure at county workplaces declined 2.62%; it is neither resident employment nor a forecast. Trade, transportation, and utilities is only the largest disclosed private supersector, not the whole economy. Inland flood is the dominant hazard, with modeled annual building-value loss of 0.30%, an exposure measure rather than a property-specific insurance cost. Missing closed-sale comps, vacancy, insurance premiums, flood-zone and elevation details, and market rent prevent conclusions on exit value, occupancy cash flow, and insurability.

Cities & communities

Where people live within Wahkiakum County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Puget Island CDP1KEast Cathlamet CDP934Cathlamet town616Rosburg CDP528Skamokawa Valley CDP352Lower Elochoman CDP271Grays River CDP195Deep River CDP147
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

10 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Puget Island CDPCensus-designated place
    1,008
  2. 02
    East Cathlamet CDPCensus-designated place
    934
  3. 03
    Cathlamet townIncorporated place
    616
  4. 04
    Rosburg CDPCensus-designated place
    528
  5. 05
    Skamokawa Valley CDPCensus-designated place
    352
  6. 06
    Lower Elochoman CDPCensus-designated place
    271
  7. 07
    Grays River CDPCensus-designated place
    195
  8. 08
    Deep River CDPCensus-designated place
    147
  9. 09
    Upper Elochoman CDPCensus-designated place
    49
  10. 10
    Altoona CDPCensus-designated place
    43

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardinland flooding

0.300% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax0.60%

$2,392 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration+47

165 in · 118 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$6,652

$64,364 arriving · $57,712 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors0.0%

0 of 39 mortgages

investorother financed
Current listing pressure

What sellers and visible supply are doing

Realtor.com® Economic Research · county inventory 2026-06 · pulled 2026-07-28
Active listings40▼ 9.2% year over year
Median days on market81▲ 37.0% year over year
Listings price-reduced22.9%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▲ 7.7% year over year

Listing price is an asking price, not a closed sale. Quality-flagged county rows are withheld instead of displayed.

No rent index is published for this county.Zillow’s county rent series does not cover every county, and estimating one from a neighbouring county would be a guess wearing a number’s clothes. Everything above is measured here; no wider market is mapped for it either.
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. Achievable asking rent may not support property taxes and other carrying costs.
  2. Property-specific flood exposure and insurance costs may differ materially from the county-level modeled loss ratio.
  3. Thin or slow MLS conditions may make valuation and exit assumptions unreliable.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Can gross yield be calculated from the supplied record?

No. County market asking rent is not published, and HUD FMR is a payment standard rather than market rent.

Do the supplied price measures show one consistent trend?

No. Zillow’s 2026-06 median home value increased year over year, while FHFA’s separately dated 2025 repeat-transaction HPI declined.

What do the purchase data show about investor participation?

The record reports no investor purchases among 39 total purchases, for a 0% investor share.