What is the population of Chelan city?

Chelan city has 4,314 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #214 of 639 in Washington.

What is the median household income in Chelan city?

Median household income in Chelan city is $71,996 a year, 8.3% below the national figure of $78,538.

How much does it cost to rent or buy in Chelan city?

Median gross rent is $1,447 a month and the median home value is $428,200, so rent absorbs about 24.1% of median household income.

Is Chelan city affordable compared with the rest of the US?

Homes cost about 5.9× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Chelan city is less affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 24.1% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.

Aerial view of a dense city center, illustrating the US cities ZIP code directory

Washington · Census place 11615

Chelan, WA population, income and ZIP codes

Quick answer

The population of the city of Chelan, Washington (Chelan, WA — Census place “Chelan city”) is 4,314 residents, ranking #214 of 639 places in Washington. Median household income is $71,996, the median home is worth $428,200 and median gross rent runs $1,447 a month. Looking for the Chelan Washington ZIP code list? 1 ZIP codes serve Chelan, WA: 98816.

Population: 4,314Chelan city residents
Median household income: $71,996Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value: $428,200Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent: $1,447Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age: 46.7 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate: 58.4%Owner-occupied households

Chelan ZIP codes (Washington)

Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Chelan.

The Chelan WA ZIP code list below covers 1 ZIP code. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.

98816

What the numbers mean in Chelan city

Housing cost measured against local earnings.

A household earning the Chelan city median would spend about 24.1% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 5.9× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 9.5% of residents and 58.4% of households own their home.

Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year

Chelan city, WA in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

Chelan city is a small town in Washington, with 4,314 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #214 of 639 ranked by population — larger than 66% of them. The median age here is 46.7 years against 39.1 nationally, a markedly older profile that usually tracks retirees staying put and younger households leaving for work. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.

Households in Chelan city earn a median of $71,996 a year, 8.3% below the national figure of $78,538 and 21% below the $90,592 median for the 393 Washington cities we cover. This figure covers the household, not the worker: two people on ordinary wages at one address outrank a single professional in the same table. Poverty reaches 9.5% of residents here, below the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Chelan city is valued at $428,200, 41.1% above the national figure and 9% below the $468,400 peer median, while median gross rent runs $1,447 a month, 2.9% above the national figure, or roughly $17,364 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 24.1% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is within the standard affordability guideline. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 5.9×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is harder here than in the average US market. 58.4% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans more heavily on renters. Gross rent folds in the utilities a tenant pays separately, so it is closer to the real monthly outlay than a headline rent figure.

No figure on this page is estimated by us; each one comes straight from the published ACS tables for this area. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

Compare with nearby places

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Frequently asked questions

Common questions about this area.

What is the population of Chelan city?: Chelan city has 4,314 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #214 of 639 in Washington.
What is the median household income in Chelan city?: Median household income in Chelan city is $71,996 a year, 8.3% below the national figure of $78,538.
How much does it cost to rent or buy in Chelan city?: Median gross rent is $1,447 a month and the median home value is $428,200, so rent absorbs about 24.1% of median household income.
Is Chelan city affordable compared with the rest of the US?: Homes cost about 5.9× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Chelan city is less affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 24.1% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
How current is this Chelan city data?: All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. At this population the ACS sample is small, so the margin of error around every dollar figure below is wide — treat the numbers as a band, not a point, and expect them to move between annual releases without the place itself changing.