Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Spokane Valley's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Spokane Valley?
Your $100,000 in Spokane Valley has the same purchasing power as $101,143 in the average US city. You'd need $1,143 less here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Spokane Valley's cost index of 99, sorted by closest match.
People moving to Spokane Valley usually have at least one specific reason. Most of them line up with what the data shows: wage income stays untaxed at the state level, daily errands don't require a car, plus 2 more things worth knowing. Here's what's actually on the table.
Wage income in Spokane Valley isn't taxed at the state level. Washington is one of the few US states with no income tax, which is one of the reasons people relocating from high-tax states tend to land here in the first place. (Washington taxes some long-term capital gains over a high threshold, but ordinary wages and salaries are not taxed.)
Spokane Valley earns a Walk Score of 58/100 — above the US median, with denser neighborhoods scoring higher than the citywide aggregate suggests. A car is still useful for longer trips, but everyday life works on foot for a lot of residents.
Spokane Valley's air quality index averages about 44 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
The average one-way commute in Spokane Valley is about 20 minutes — short by US standards (the national average is closer to 27). Over a year of working days, that's hundreds of hours that don't get spent in traffic, which is the kind of thing you notice in the weekend rather than the weekday.
Reasons are pulled from Spokane Valley's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Snow is a regular feature, not a surprise. With winter temperatures hovering near 25°F, Spokane Valley sees enough snowfall that locals don't think twice about it but also enough mild stretches that nobody owns three pairs of boots.
Cold but workable. Winter in Spokane Valley averages about 25°F — colder than the national norm, mild compared to the upper Midwest. A solid coat handles most days; the genuine cold snaps are short.
Hot, but not desert-hot. Summer in Spokane Valley runs about 81°F on average, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that varies by region. AC is standard rather than optional.
Zone 8, give or take a half-zone. Spokane Valley's typical winter low puts it in that band on the USDA Hardiness map, which is what nurseries label plants against. Use Zone 8 as your starting filter; the USDA's interactive map is more precise for borderline cases.
Spokane Valley sits at about 2,001 feet (610 m) — meaningfully higher than coastal cities, but not high enough to noticeably affect breathing or cooking.
Higher than average. Spokane Valley reports about 4,440 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the US average of around 3,500. Citywide numbers are often dragged up by a few hotspots; specific neighborhoods can be very safe in cities that don't look great on paper, and vice versa.
Roughly average. Spokane Valley's cost-of-living index is 99, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Somewhat. Spokane Valley earns a Walk Score of 58/100 — many daily errands are doable on foot, especially in the denser neighborhoods, but a car still helps for longer trips. Transit Score is 40 out of 100.
Roughly $69,209 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Spokane Valley runs about $1,175/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.