Wenatchee Just Ranked Among Washington’s Best Cities

Homesnacks just released its 2026 rankings of Washington's best places to live, crunching Census, FBI, and Zillow data across 122 cities. The statewide top ten reads like a tour of Seattle's wealthiest suburbs — Mercer Island, Sammamish, Snoqualmie — places where the median home price could buy you three houses out here.

But flip to the list of the ten best cities east of the Cascades, and the Wenatchee Valley shows up twice.

Home Turf Makes the Cut

The Wenatchee Valley from high atop Badger Mountain via Canva

Wenatchee landed at number six on the eastside list, ranking 58th overall statewide. East Wenatchee sits just behind it at number seven, coming in at 60th overall. Together, the two river towns anchor a stretch of the Columbia that offers something the flashier Seattle suburbs can't — the Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail, Pybus Public Market, and Ohme Gardens perched above the valley, all without the traffic or the price tag.

Richland claimed fifth on the eastside ranking, with Pullman close behind at fourth — a college town that keeps landing on these lists for good reason. College Place, near Walla Walla, took third.

The Rest of the Field

West Richland edged into second place on the eastern Washington list, landing 48th statewide. But the real winner east of the mountains was Liberty Lake, a planned community outside Spokane that claimed both the top eastside spot and 22nd place in the entire state — a genuinely impressive showing for a city most Western Washington residents have never heard of.

For anyone weighing a move to Central Washington, or just looking for a reason to feel a little smug about staying put, this list offers plenty of ammunition. Wenatchee and East Wenatchee didn't need Seattle-level wealth to earn their spots. They just needed the river, the orchards, and a community that people actually want to stick around in.

Top Ten Liveable Cities East of the Cascades

10- Spokane Valley (79th in WA)

9 - Selah (66th overall) 

8 - Connell (61st in WA)

7 - East Wenatchee (60th in WA)

6 - Wenatchee (58th overall)

5 - Richland (57th overall)

4 - Pullman (55th overall)

3 - College Place (near Walla Walla, 50th overall)

2 - West Richland (48th overall)

1 - Liberty Lake (22nd best in WA)