Aberdeen among 3 WA cities called ‘hidden gem housing markets’

By Sara Schilling The Olympian • October 8, 2025 1:30 am
Downtown Aberdeen Association Aberdeen has been ranked as the top Washington state city that is a “hidden gem housing market.”
Downtown Aberdeen Association Aberdeen has been ranked as the top Washington state city that is a “hidden gem housing market.”

A new report lists more than two dozen housing markets “where affordability and livability best intersect” — and three are in Washington — with Aberdeen making the grade.

They’re not the state’s most populous or even necessarily best-known areas, but they — along with the other markets on the list — “offer significantly lower home prices than their state averages, manageable mortgage costs and solid median incomes — along with strong livability ratings,” according to the personal finance site GOBankingRates.

The site curated a list of “America’s 30 Best Hidden Gem Housing Markets of 2025,” published Sept. 15. The top hidden gem housing market is in Virginia, followed by a city in New York and one in Wisconsin. Washington’s highest-placing city cracked the top five.

“From college towns to lakeside communities,” the 30 markets on the list “are quietly thriving and poised to attract savvy buyers in the months ahead,” GOBankingRates said. The three Washington cities on GOBankingRates’ list of the 30 best hidden gem housing markets in the country are: Aberdeen (No. 5), Spokane Valley (No. 12) and Pullman (No. 20.)

Aberdeen’s average home value is $282,994, or nearly $340,000 less than the state’s average, GOBankingRates said. The average monthly mortgage is $1,620, per the site, while the median household income is $52,181.

Meanwhile, Spokane Valley and Pullman — both in Eastern Washington — also have average home values far below the state average of $621,316, GOBankingRates said. Spokane Valley’s is $420,821 and Pullman’s is $439,271. The average monthly mortgage in those cities is $2,409 in Spokane Valley and $2,514 in Pullman, according to GOBankingRates, while their median household incomes are $70,722 and $45,097, respectively.

How did GoBankingRates come up with its ranking? GOBankingRates used data from Sperling’s BestPlaces, AreaVibes, Zillow, the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to create its hidden gems list, it said.

“Cities were weighted based on how they rank in multiple categories, and an overall score was determined — producing a list of the nation’s best blends of affordability and livability,” GOBankingRates said.

Criteria used to evaluate the cities included the difference in the city’s and state’s average home value, livability index score, median household income and average mortgage cost, per the site.