Water hardness in Washington

Typical Washington tap water

36mg/L

2.1gpg

Soft

Population-weighted middle value across 161 Washington cities in the dataset

People with hard or very hard water: 10%
Hardest: Omak 289
Softest: Mill Creek East 13

We have hardness numbers for 145 Washington cities; 7 of them are county estimates rather than utility figures. Each city page adds the water system's EPA violation record and a softener size for a typical household.

Every Washington city on the hardness scale

Dot size follows population. Tap a dot for the city page.

97Soft

35Moderately hard

9Hard

4Very hard

Hardest water in Washington

Softest water in Washington

All cities in Washington

City	mg/L	gpg	Class	Data	EPA health violations
Seattle	31	1.8	Soft	Utility report	0
Spokane	131	7.7	Hard	Utility report	0
Tacoma	22	1.3	Soft	Utility report	0
Vancouver	100	5.8	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Bellevue	34	2.0	Soft	Utility report	0
Kent	52	3.1	Soft	Utility report	0
Everett	19	1.1	Soft	Utility report	0
Spokane Valley	131	7.7	Hard	Utility report	0
Renton	49	2.9	Soft	Utility report	0
Federal Way	31	1.8	Soft	Utility report	0
Yakima	39	2.3	Soft	Calculated from utility data	0
Kirkland	34	2.0	Soft	Utility report	0
Bellingham	29	1.7	Soft	Utility report	0
Kennewick	96	5.6	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Auburn	58	3.4	Soft	Utility report	0
Pasco	268	15.7	Very hard	County estimate	0
Redmond	39	2.3	Soft	Utility report	0
Marysville	29	1.7	Soft	County estimate	0
South Hill	22	1.3	Soft	Utility report	0
Shoreline	31	1.8	Soft	Utility report	0
Sammamish	62	3.6	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Richland	89	5.2	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Lakewood	72	4.2	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Lacey	110	6.4	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Olympia	52	3.0	Soft	Utility report	0
Bothell	19	1.1	Soft	Utility report	0
Burien	33	1.9	Soft	Utility report	0
Bremerton	39	2.3	Soft	Utility report	0
Edmonds	35	2.1	Soft	Utility report	0
Puyallup	29	1.7	Soft	Utility report	0
Lynnwood	15	0.9	Soft	Utility report	0
Lake Stevens	36	2.1	Soft	Utility report	0
Issaquah	41	2.4	Soft	Utility report	0
Parkland	22	1.3	Soft	Utility report	0
Longview	127	7.4	Hard	Utility report	0
Wenatchee	80	4.7	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
University Place	22	1.3	Soft	Utility report	0
Mount Vernon	18	1.1	Soft	Utility report	0
Graham	22	1.3	Soft	Utility report	0
SeaTac	64	3.8	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Spanaway	39	2.3	Soft	County estimate	0
Walla Walla	39	2.3	Soft	County estimate	36
Pullman	115	6.7	Moderately hard	Calculated from utility data	0
Des Moines	48	2.8	Soft	Utility report	0
Orchards	101	5.9	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Maple Valley	46	2.7	Soft	Utility report	0
Tumwater	60	3.5	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Moses Lake	168	9.8	Hard	County estimate	0
Mill Creek East	13	0.7	Soft	Utility report	0
Mountlake Terrace	14	0.8	Soft	Utility report	0
Mercer Island	39	2.3	Soft	Utility report	0
Bainbridge Island	70	4.1	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Kenmore	25	1.5	Soft	Utility report	0
Frederickson	22	1.3	Soft	Utility report	0
Oak Harbor	45	2.6	Soft	Utility report	0
North Lynnwood	13	0.7	Soft	Utility report	0
Battle Ground	85	5.0	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Eastmont	22	1.3	Soft	Utility report	0
Union Hill-Novelty Hill	50	2.9	Soft	Utility report	0
Cottage Lake	25	1.5	Soft	Utility report	0
Hazel Dell	101	5.9	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Martha Lake	13	0.7	Soft	Utility report	0
Bonney Lake	30	1.7	Soft	Utility report	0
Arlington	29	1.7	Soft	County estimate	0
Tukwila	37	2.1	Soft	Utility report	0
Silver Firs	43	2.5	Soft	Utility report	0
Covington	59	3.5	Soft	Utility report	0
Five Corners	101	5.9	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Ellensburg	60	3.5	Soft	Utility report	0
Mukilteo	13	0.7	Soft	Utility report	0
Silverdale	80	4.7	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Bothell West	13	0.7	Soft	Utility report	0
Mill Creek	13	0.7	Soft	Utility report	0
Monroe	29	1.7	Soft	County estimate	0
Port Orchard	39	2.3	Soft	Utility report	0
Salmon Creek	86	5.0	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
West Richland	33	1.9	Soft	Utility report	0
Fairwood	53	3.1	Soft	Utility report	0
Washougal	40	2.4	Soft	Utility report	0
Bryn Mawr-Skyway	35	2.0	Soft	Utility report	0
Ridgefield	86	5.0	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Lake Stickney	13	0.7	Soft	Utility report	0
White Center	31	1.8	Soft	Utility report	0
Lakeland North	48	2.8	Soft	Utility report	0
Woodinville	25	1.5	Soft	Utility report	0
Bothell East	13	0.7	Soft	Utility report	0
East Wenatchee	80	4.7	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Snoqualmie	41	2.4	Soft	Utility report	0
Sedro-Woolley	18	1.1	Soft	Utility report	0
Lake Forest Park	30	1.8	Soft	Utility report	0
Enumclaw	62	3.6	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Newcastle	27	1.6	Soft	Utility report	0
Lakeland South	38	2.2	Soft	Utility report	0
Poulsbo	67	3.9	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Cheney	55	3.2	Soft	Calculated from utility data	0
Gig Harbor	46	2.7	Soft	Utility report	0
Lake Tapps	95	5.6	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
East Renton Highlands	30	1.8	Soft	Utility report	0
Minnehaha	105	6.1	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Grandview	208	12.2	Very hard	Calculated from utility data	1
Prairie Ridge	30	1.7	Soft	Utility report	0
Airway Heights	131	7.7	Hard	Utility report	0
Burlington	18	1.1	Soft	Utility report	0
Maltby	16	0.9	Soft	Utility report	0
Snohomish	36	2.1	Soft	Utility report	0
Felida	86	5.0	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Port Townsend	60	3.5	Soft	Utility report	0
Mount Vista	86	5.0	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Lake Morton-Berrydale	52	3.0	Soft	Utility report	0
Alderwood Manor	13	0.7	Soft	Utility report	0
Picnic Point	13	0.7	Soft	Utility report	0
Terrace Heights	88	5.2	Moderately hard	Calculated from utility data	–
Duvall	21	1.2	Soft	Utility report	0
Othello	33	1.9	Soft	Calculated from utility data	0
Summit View	22	1.3	Soft	Utility report	0
Milton	38	2.2	Soft	Utility report	0
Summit	22	1.3	Soft	Utility report	0
Orting	22	1.3	Soft	Utility report	0
Ephrata	230	13.5	Very hard	Calculated from utility data	0
North Bend	41	2.4	Soft	Utility report	0
Selah	147	8.6	Hard	Calculated from utility data	1
Midland	22	1.3	Soft	Utility report	0
Toppenish	63	3.7	Moderately hard	Calculated from utility data	0
Barberton	86	5.0	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Waller	22	1.3	Soft	Utility report	0
Mead	124	7.2	Hard	Utility report	0
Clover Creek	22	1.3	Soft	Utility report	0
Pacific	39	2.3	Soft	Utility report	0
Black Diamond	46	2.7	Soft	Utility report	0
Fircrest	22	1.3	Soft	Utility report	0
Wollochet	46	2.7	Soft	Utility report	0
Tanglewilde	83	4.8	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Tehaleh	22	1.3	Soft	Utility report	0
Steilacoom	72	4.2	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Union Gap	31	1.8	Soft	Calculated from utility data	0
Woodland	86	5.0	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Normandy Park	64	3.8	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Lake Shore	86	5.0	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Brier	13	0.7	Soft	Utility report	0
Hockinson	101	5.9	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Country Homes	124	7.2	Hard	Utility report	0
Finley	96	5.6	Moderately hard	Utility report	0
Tracyton	49	2.9	Soft	Utility report	0
Town and Country	130	7.6	Hard	Utility report	0
Omak	289	16.9	Very hard	Calculated from utility data	0

Questions

Is Washington water hard?

The typical Washington resident gets about 36 mg/L (2.1 gpg), which is soft. About 10% of people in the cities we track have hard or very hard water.

Which city in Washington has the hardest water?

Among 145 cities with pages here, Omak is highest at 289 mg/L.

Which city in Washington has the softest water?

Mill Creek East, at 13 mg/L.

Other states

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness, CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.