Living in Inland Northwest / Spokane & the Palouse

Spokane and Pullman anchor Washington's Inland Northwest, a region the Cascade Range genuinely separates -- climatically, economically, and culturally -- from the rest of this state's Puget Sound-dominated build. Spokane, Washington's 2nd-largest city, runs a completely independent metro economy built on healthcare (Providence Health & Services, more than 8,000 employees), higher education (Gonzaga University), and logistics, and functions as the genuine commercial hub for a roughly 80,000-square-mile region formally extending into North Idaho via the Census Bureau's own Spokane-Coeur d'Alene combined statistical area. Spokane is also Washington's most affordable major city in this dataset ($395,000-$418,900), though its crime runs genuinely elevated (violent crime roughly 88% above the national average) and it was living through a severe, current wildfire emergency as of August 2026 (roughly 8,000 acres burned) amid the state's fourth consecutive drought year. Pullman, 75-80 miles south in the rolling Palouse wheat country, is Washington State University's flagship home -- WSU's own enrollment (16,248) runs comparable to or exceeds Pullman's total population, giving the town a dramatically young median age (23.2) and, in sharp contrast to Spokane, real, disclosed low crime.

Explore Inland Northwest / Spokane & the Palouse in depth

• Cost of Living & Housing in Inland Northwest / Spokane & the Palouse
• Best Places to Live in Inland Northwest / Spokane & the Palouse
• Moving to Inland Northwest / Spokane & the Palouse
• Climate & Lifestyle in Inland Northwest / Spokane & the Palouse

Places we've researched in Inland Northwest / Spokane & the Palouse

• Spokane -- Spokane County
• Pullman -- Whitman County