Is Northeast Washington a Good Place to Live?
Maybe you've been watching Boise or Seattle prices climb and someone mentioned Spokane as the move. Maybe you already know you want this corner of Washington but you're stuck between a Liberty Lake townhome with a tech-company commute and a Cheney craftsman two blocks from Eastern Washington University's campus. Either way, the honest answer is that the cities in this region are not interchangeable suburbs of each other — they have different employers, different vibes, and median prices that swing by more than $180,000 depending on which one you pick.
The trade-off nobody leads with: Spokane County sits on the dry side of the Cascades, which means four real seasons and lower home prices than the west side of Washington — but also fewer remote-work neighbors than you'd find in Bend or Bozeman, and an economy still anchored in healthcare, military, and manufacturing more than tech. Fairchild Air Force Base alone ties together Airway Heights, Cheney, and even parts of Spokane Valley, making the county unusually dependent on a single federal installation.
What the region gets right is geographic range at a small scale. You can live near the lake in Liberty Lake, walk to craft breweries in Kendall Yards, drive to Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge for birding on a Tuesday morning, or be two minutes from the Spokane International Airport for a cross-country trip — and all of those are within roughly 30 miles of each other. The Centennial Trail connecting Spokane and Spokane Valley is the clearest physical symbol of how tightly these cities are actually linked.
The grid below breaks out each city as its own place. Look at the employers first — they'll tell you more about day-to-day life and resale risk than any neighborhood description will.
Explore All 5 Cities in Northeast Washington
Click into any city for the complete guide — neighborhoods, home prices, cost of living, pros & cons, schools, top employers, and mortgage help.
Airway Heights
Airway Heights sits on the West Plains literally next to the Fairchild Air Force Base fence line, which means a large share of residents are active-duty military or civilians who work on base — and that shapes everything from the rental market to the pace of the community. Northern Quest Resort & Casino and the Amazon fulfillment center add civilian employment, and the Spokane International Airport is a short drive east. Median homes at $367,631 make it the most affordable incorporated city in the county, which attracts first-time buyers willing to accept a more car-dependent daily routine.
Full Airway Heights Guide →- Is Airway Heights Safe? A Data-Backed Look
- Cost of Living in Airway Heights
- Best Neighborhoods in Airway Heights
- Schools in Airway Heights: A Family Guide
- Parks & Recreation in Airway Heights
- Retiring in Airway Heights
- First-Time Homebuyer's Guide to Airway Heights
- Moving to Airway Heights from California
Cheney
Cheney runs on two institutions: Eastern Washington University, whose campus anchors the east side of town, and Fairchild Air Force Base, close enough that base housing demand keeps the local rental market active year-round. The Downtown Cheney Historic District gives it a real small-city core — a rarity in this county outside Spokane proper — and Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge sits just south of town for anyone who wants serious birding or trail access without a long drive. Median homes at $415,802 reflect a market that's affordable relative to the region while still carrying the stability a Big Four university employer brings.
Full Cheney Guide →
Liberty Lake
Liberty Lake is the one city in the county that reads as a planned, amenity-forward suburb, and the prices reflect it — median homes at $580,200 are the highest in the region by a wide margin. The draw is real: the lake itself anchors a regional park with swimming and trails, the Numerica Skate Ribbon and Trailhead Golf Course add year-round recreation, and employers like Itron and Amphenol Network Solutions give the city an actual local tech and manufacturing base rather than pure bedroom-community dependence on Spokane. It's the obvious pick if top-tier school district, newer construction, and walkable amenities matter more to you than price.
Full Liberty Lake Guide →
Spokane
Spokane is the city that makes the rest of the region possible — a full-sized urban core with Riverfront Park along the falls, the Gonzaga University district, the arts scene at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture and Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, and major healthcare employers including Providence Health & Services and MultiCare. Neighborhoods range from the dense, historic blocks of Browne's Addition to the quieter residential streets of South Hill and North Indian Trail, so the city contains multitudes even before you factor in price. Median homes at $403,557 represent the county's biggest and deepest market, with the most inventory, the most price-point variety, and the most neighborhood-by-neighborhood variance of any city here.
Full Spokane Guide →
Spokane Valley
Spokane Valley is the county's second-largest city and the one that still has genuine working-class industrial identity — Kaiser Aluminum's Trentwood rolling mill and Wagstaff's casting machinery operation are not background color, they're major employers that have been here for decades. Mirabeau Point Park, the Dishman Hills Natural Area, and the Centennial Trail give outdoor access that rivals what you'd find in Liberty Lake without the premium price tag. Median homes at $399,691 sit just below Spokane proper, making the Valley the practical pick for buyers who want more square footage, a quieter suburban feel, and quick access to both Spokane and the Idaho border.
Full Spokane Valley Guide →- Is Spokane Valley Safe? A Data-Backed Look
- Cost of Living in Spokane Valley
- Best Neighborhoods in Spokane Valley
- Schools in Spokane Valley: A Family Guide
- Parks & Recreation in Spokane Valley
- Retiring in Spokane Valley
- First-Time Homebuyer's Guide to Spokane Valley
- Moving to Spokane Valley from California
Compare Every City in Northeast WA
Full ranked breakdowns across every city in the region — scored and compared side by side.
Local Expert Takeaway: If you're comparing these cities side by side, sort by employer first — your job or your partner's job will determine which city's trade-offs you can actually live with, and in this county the difference between a Fairchild-adjacent community and a university town and a lakeside tech suburb is large enough that the wrong pick will feel wrong within six months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which city in Northeast Washington is right for which kind of buyer?
How dependent is this region on Fairchild Air Force Base, and does that create risk?
Is Northeast Washington really that much cheaper than western Washington?
What's the commute situation between these cities?
What winters are actually like, and how does that affect the decision?
Helpful Washington Resources
Explore Other Washington Regions
Northeast Washington is one of 9 distinct regions that make up Washington. Each has its own climate, character, and housing market — explore them all.
The largest job market in the state — tech, aerospace, and everything that comes with it. 37 cities including Auburn, Bainbridge Island, Bellevue.
Explore all 37 Seattle Metro cities →
Bellingham anchors a corridor of island and farm-country towns between Seattle and the Canadian border. 13 cities including Anacortes, Arlington, Bellingham.
Explore all 13 North Puget Sound cities →
Ferry-linked towns between the Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound. 8 cities including Aberdeen, Bremerton, Port Angeles.
Explore all 8 Olympic Peninsula cities →
Tacoma and the state capital anchor a corridor with real price relief versus Seattle. 13 cities including DuPont, Fife, Gig Harbor.
Explore all 13 South Puget Sound cities →
Just across the Columbia from Portland, with no state income tax. 8 cities including Battle Ground, Camas, Centralia.
Explore all 8 SW Washington cities →
Washington's apple country, split by the Columbia River. 2 cities including East Wenatchee, Wenatchee.
Explore all 2 North Central WA cities →
Wine and agriculture country, plus the Tri-Cities nuclear/tech corridor. 9 cities including Ellensburg, Kennewick, Moses Lake.
Explore all 9 South Central WA cities →
Wine country and a major university town in the far southeast corner of the state. 3 cities including College Place, Pullman, Walla Walla.
Explore all 3 Southeast WA cities →Moving to Washington?
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