Cost of Living & Housing in Friday Harbor
Friday Harbor pairs Washington's lowest county-level property tax rate and no state income tax with genuinely expensive island housing -- a real, disclosed trade-off rather than a uniformly low-cost island market.
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Learn moreGenuinely expensive island housing
Zillow's typical home value for Friday Harbor is $873,167, down a real, disclosed 10.6% over the past year (base record) -- genuinely expensive relative to most other Tier C markets in this dataset, reflecting the islands' constrained land supply and vacation/second-home demand.
San Juan County's lowest-in-Washington property tax rate
San Juan County's effective property tax rate runs around 0.57% -- the lowest of any Washington county (base record) -- alongside Washington's no state individual income tax. This is a real, genuine offsetting factor against the area's high home values.
An 8.65% combined sales tax
Friday Harbor's combined sales tax rate is 8.65% -- Washington's 6.5% state base plus a 2.15% local add-on (base record).
A genuinely small, remote market means real added costs
Friday Harbor's small population (2,613 at the 2020 Census) and ferry-only mainland access (base record) mean genuine, practical costs beyond the sticker price of a home -- ferry fares, freight surcharges on goods shipped to the island, and real limits on local retail and service competition are all worth budgeting for.
Key takeaways
- Zillow's typical home value runs a genuinely high $873,167, though down 10.6% year-over-year.
- San Juan County's effective property tax rate (~0.57%) is the lowest of any Washington county, alongside no state income tax.
- Combined sales tax runs 8.65%.
- Friday Harbor's remote, ferry-only island setting adds real, practical costs beyond home price -- ferry fares and freight surcharges among them.
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