Best PlacesCowlitz County, WA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Cowlitz County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Cowlitz County ranks 1,094th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It does not top any single list, but it lands above the national middle on few empty homes and clean air. The weaker spots are childcare costs, state infrastructure, and disaster risk.
The best neighborhoods in Cowlitz County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Cowlitz County
The parts of Cowlitz County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Woodland & Kalama
Incomes run higher, local pay stretches further, and tree cover is thicker.
Silverlake
It is quieter, though biking is worse.
Longview
Streets are more walkable.
Castle Rock
Fewer homes sit empty, though fewer households have young kids.
Kelso
Commutes are shorter, though prices have run up more.
Scores across Cowlitz County run from about the 9th to the 82nd percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Cowlitz County's strengths and weaknesses
Cowlitz County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Few empty homes, clean air, and biking carry most of that.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. State infrastructure and disaster risk also cost it ground. Cost swings more from one part of Cowlitz County to another than it does between Cowlitz County and its neighbors, which the map below shows.
Where Cowlitz County ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 95% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 93% of counties
- BikingBetter than 88% of counties
- TransitBetter than 86% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 86% of counties
Where Cowlitz County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,375 a month, better than only 4% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 11% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 11% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 22% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 29% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Cowlitz County
A household needs to earn about $107,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Cowlitz County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $83,110, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Cowlitz County's effective rate of 0.83%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Cowlitz County
Cowlitz County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Cowlitz County.
Who works in Cowlitz County, and how
Work in Cowlitz County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Cowlitz County
Cowlitz County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more late-night spots per resident than 92% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Cowlitz County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Cowlitz County growing, and who is moving in?
Cowlitz County has grown about 12% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Portland, OR.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Cowlitz County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Cowlitz County, month by month
Cowlitz County sees roughly 87 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 41° | 35° |
| April | 64° | 51° | 40° |
| July | 82° | 66° | 55° |
| October | 65° | 53° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Cowlitz County
Portland International sits about 40 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 9.1 million passengers in 2025, with 117 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Cowlitz County
Schools across Cowlitz County average a C, better than 42% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Columbia City SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Lewis & Clark Elementary SchoolD · 17% proficient
Top middle schools
- St Helens Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- St Helens High SchoolC · 31% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Cowlitz County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Cowlitz County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Cowlitz County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Cowlitz County suits
Families
Schools land around the 42nd percentile and crime safety beats 82%.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Cowlitz County
Is Cowlitz County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Cowlitz County ranks 1,094th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on few empty homes, clean air, and biking, and lowest on childcare costs and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Cowlitz County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $406,878. The overall cost of living runs about 1% above the national average. Set against a $83,110 median income, cost of living beats 52% of counties.
Is Cowlitz County safe?
Yes, Cowlitz County is safer than 82% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $367 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Cowlitz County?
July highs average about 82 degrees, and January highs near 49 with lows near 35. That works out to about 87 pleasant days a year, more than 48% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Cowlitz County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Woodland & Kalama, Silverlake, and Longview. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Cowlitz County good for families?
Schools beat 42% of counties, crime safety beats 82%, and childcare runs $1,375 a month.
Is Cowlitz County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 52% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 60% of counties. About 9% of workers already work from home.
Compare Cowlitz County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Cowlitz County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Cowlitz County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Cowlitz County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Cowlitz County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Cowlitz County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Cowlitz County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Cowlitz County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Cowlitz County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.