Start at Riverfront Park in downtown Spokane, where a real waterfall runs through the middle of the biggest city in the Inland Northwest, home to about 230,000 people. The Centennial Trail and the Bloomsday route give runners and cyclists plenty of pavement, and Gonzaga basketball is a point of local pride. Coeur d'Alene's lake is about 33 miles east, and Mount Spokane handles the skiing.
Day to day it feels like a mid-sized city that has not gotten out of reach, with Kendall Yards, South Hill and the Perry District each having their own personality. Costs sit close to the national average, and rents have actually softened lately. The downsides are heavy winter snow and ice, smoky summers when wildfires burn, and a real property crime problem, especially car theft. Parts of East Central and the East Sprague corridor have visible homelessness and drug activity, so use care there after dark.
Cities with a similar character, anywhere on the site.
Out of 10. Open any score to see how it’s worked out. “Data-based” scores come from published figures; “Hey! En Route estimate” scores are worked out from what we know about the city; “Hey! En Route rating” scores were set by our editors.
- Known as
- Lilac City; Hooptown USA; Capital of the Inland Northwest; Lilac City of the Northwest
- Founded
- 1871 settled; 1881 incorporated (as Spokane Falls; renamed Spokane 1891)
- Languages
- English; Spanish; Russian; Ukrainian; Marshallese
- Airports
- GEG Spokane International (about 8 mi west of downtown, the only commercial airport); Pullman-Moscow PUW (about 75 mi); Coeur d'Alene has no scheduled service; Seattle SEA about 280 mi drive
- Tipping
- Restaurants 18-20% for table service; bars $1-2 per drink; taxis and rideshare 15-20%; hotel housekeeping $3-5 per night; bellhops $2-3 per bag; counter service tipping optional; Washington servers earn full minimum wage, so tips are extra
