81,228 people (2024 Census estimate, +2.4% since 2020)
2,921 square miles of land · 28 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
46 active community water systems list Chelan County in the area they serve, reporting 108,638 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| WENATCHEE CITY OF groundwater · local government · WA5394350 | 43,690 served |
| CHELAN CO PUD 1 buys groundwater · local government · WA5312284 | 16,190 served |
| LEAVENWORTH CITY OF surface water · local government · WA5346500 | 11,041 served |
| CHELAN WATER DEPT CITY OF surface water · local government · WA5312300 | 9,425 served |
| LAKE CHELAN RECLAMATION DISTRICT surface water · local government · WA5343783 | 6,798 served |
| CASHMERE WATER DEPARTMENT surface water · local government · WA5311700 | 5,815 served |
| MALAGA WATER DISTRICT groundwater · local government · WA5350500 | 2,478 served |
| CHELAN CO PUD - CHELAN RIDGE groundwater · local government · WA5300631 | 2,429 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 85 people were held in Chelan County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2023), or 178 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2018 it was about 195.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
7 school districts have their office in Chelan County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $131.6 million — $124.9 million to run schools, about $16,994 per student, plus $1.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $21 million local (mostly property tax), $95.5 million state, $17.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $58.9 million.
Spent $27.2 million — $25.8 million to run schools, about $16,342 per student, plus $318,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.4 million local (mostly property tax), $20.2 million state, $2.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $17.3 million.
Spent $26.4 million — $25.1 million to run schools, about $18,822 per student, plus $974,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.4 million local (mostly property tax), $16.5 million state, $2.8 million federal.
Spent $25.7 million — $22.8 million to run schools, about $18,217 per student, plus $199,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $9.3 million local (mostly property tax), $15 million state, $2.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $52.7 million.
Spent $14.8 million — $12.5 million to run schools, about $20,260 per student, plus $1.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.8 million local (mostly property tax), $8.9 million state, $1.6 million federal. Long-term debt: $1.9 million.
Spent $7.2 million — $6.7 million to run schools, about $20,018 per student, plus $69,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.6 million local (mostly property tax), $5.2 million state, $905,000 federal. Long-term debt: $8.3 million.
Spent $217,000 — $217,000 to run schools, about $21,700 per student. Money in: $49,000 local (mostly property tax), $383,000 state, $0 federal.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Chelan County about $88.5 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
148 bridges in Chelan County: 80 in good condition, 56 fair, and 12 poor (8.1%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| SR 285 over S WENATCHEE AVE · built 1973 | 48,107 vehicles a day |
| US 2 over COLUMBIA RIVER · built 1975 | 12,899 vehicles a day |
| US 2 over WENATCHEE RIVER · built 1929 | 8,705 vehicles a day |
| APLETS WY over WENATCHEE RIVER · built 1957 | 5,800 vehicles a day |
| US 2 over NASON CREEK · built 1987 | 5,262 vehicles a day |
| PESHASTIN MAIN ST over WENATCHEE RIVER · built 1931 | 3,489 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $54.5 million of work in Chelan County in fiscal 2025, about $689 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Washington are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Chelan County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Chelan County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Washington: the state government and every county in Washington.
Nearby counties: Douglas County (44 mi) · Kittitas County (51 mi) · Snohomish County (55 mi) · King County (62 mi) · Okanogan County (62 mi) · Grant County (70 mi).