Ranked from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
Driest Counties in Washington
The least rainfall in the country. Dry is easier on a building than wet, but it moves the cost somewhere else: irrigation, foundation movement in shrink-swell soils, and in the driest counties the price and reliability of water itself. Figures are NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals from the weather station nearest each county seat, so they describe a thirty-year average rather than any single year.
Washington ranked
| # | County | Annual rainfall | FEMA risk rating | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Douglas County | 7.6" | Relatively Low | $402,900 |
| 2 | Grant County | 7.6" | Relatively Low | $275,700 |
| 3 | Benton County | 7.6" | Relatively Moderate | $369,400 |
| 4 | Yakima County | 8.0" | Relatively Moderate | $281,100 |
| 5 | Franklin County | 8.8" | Relatively Low | $345,700 |
| 6 | Kittitas County | 9.2" | Relatively Moderate | $459,900 |
| 7 | Adams County | 10.1" | Very Low | $251,300 |
| 8 | Okanogan County | 11.6" | Relatively Moderate | $284,200 |
| 9 | Lincoln County | 12.6" | Relatively Low | $272,300 |
| 10 | Asotin County | 12.9" | Very Low | $286,200 |
| 11 | Klickitat County | 16.5" | Relatively Low | $388,700 |
| 12 | Spokane County | 17.4" | Relatively Moderate | $370,500 |
| 13 | Whitman County | 17.5" | Very Low | $323,300 |
| 14 | Garfield County | 17.6" | Very Low | $214,200 |
| 15 | Ferry County | 18.1" | Relatively Low | $274,500 |
| 16 | San Juan County | 18.5" | Very Low | $726,500 |
| 17 | Walla Walla County | 18.7" | Relatively Low | $375,600 |
| 18 | Columbia County | 18.8" | Very Low | $256,100 |
| 19 | Stevens County | 21.4" | Relatively Low | $308,000 |
| 20 | Island County | 21.7" | Relatively Low | $535,300 |
| 21 | Pend Oreille County | 22.5" | Very Low | $307,800 |
| 22 | Chelan County | 27.2" | Relatively Moderate | $454,900 |
| 23 | Clallam County | 29.4" | Relatively Moderate | $385,600 |
| 24 | Jefferson County | 29.4" | Relatively Low | $495,100 |
| 25 | Snohomish County | 33.4" | Relatively High | $644,600 |
| 26 | Cowlitz County | 40.7" | Relatively Moderate | $367,400 |
| 27 | Pierce County | 45.1" | Relatively High | $484,400 |
| 28 | Lewis County | 50.6" | Relatively Moderate | $341,500 |
| 29 | Thurston County | 50.6" | Relatively High | $451,500 |
| 30 | Clark County | 52.4" | Relatively Moderate | $487,900 |
| 31 | Kitsap County | 56.9" | Relatively Moderate | $505,700 |
| 32 | King County | 63.3" | Very High | $811,200 |
| 33 | Grays Harbor County | 68.8" | Relatively High | $279,500 |
| 34 | Skagit County | 71.2" | Relatively Moderate | $486,200 |
| 35 | Whatcom County | 83.0" | Relatively Moderate | $536,100 |
| 36 | Pacific County | 83.7" | Relatively Moderate | $274,000 |
| 37 | Skamania County | 88.9" | Relatively Low | $472,600 |
| 38 | Mason County | 92.0" | Relatively Moderate | $377,400 |
| 39 | Wahkiakum County | 103.5" | Very Low | $344,500 |
Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 7.03%. Property tax and electricity are county and state specific; homeowners insurance uses the NAIC average premium for that state, which ranges from 0.16% of home value in Hawaii to 1.16% in Oklahoma. Maintenance and water are national estimates. Full methodology.
Nationwide
Driest Counties across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in Washington