USDA eligibility in Washington: the income limits and the property map
Two gates decide USDA eligibility in Washington: your household income and where the home sits. The income line runs higher in the Seattle-metro counties of King, Snohomish, and Pierce than it does in Yakima County or the Columbia Basin. The property line excludes the Seattle, Tacoma, and Spokane cores while reaching well into the Cascade foothills. Here is how each gate works across Washington.
USDA income limits: the Seattle-metro counties run higher
USDA caps eligibility at 115% of the area median income for the county where you buy, so the dollar line moves as you cross Washington. The statewide floor is $122,800 for a one-to-four-person household and $162,100 for five to eight, effective July 13, 2026 under Procedure Notice 657. King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties around Seattle carry limits above that floor, because USDA sets the cap off area median income and the Puget Sound metro is among the highest-income regions in the country. You can see the same high-cost logic in Washington's own programs: the Washington State Housing Finance Commission uses a $164,400 income tier for King and Snohomish versus $126,800 for the rest of the state.
The part Washington buyers miss is who gets counted. USDA looks at the income of every adult who will live in the home, not just the borrowers on the loan, so an adult child working a Yakima Valley packing-house job or a partner you leave off the mortgage still counts toward the household total. USDA also allows deductions, for example $480 per dependent and childcare, that can pull a household near the Enumclaw or Buckley line back under. In the high-cost Puget Sound counties, a quick self-check often gives the wrong answer in both directions.
| Household size | Washington floor (as of July 13, 2026) |
|---|---|
| 1-4 people | $122,800 |
| 5-8 people | $162,100 |
King, Snohomish, and Pierce sit above those figures; Yakima County, the Columbia Basin, and the Palouse use the floor. Look up your county's actual limit on the USDA income eligibility tool. If your income lands near the line in Enumclaw or Sultan, that is exactly when it pays to have someone run the deductions before you assume you are out.
USDA property eligibility: the map across Washington
The home has to sit inside the USDA-eligible map, and in Washington that map is broad. USDA excludes the Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Vancouver, and Spokane urban cores, but eligible Washington covers the Cascade-foothill exurbs, the Olympic Peninsula beyond the Puget Sound metros, the Columbia Basin, the Palouse wheat country, and the Yakima Valley orchards. Areas USDA considers rural in character, generally under 20,000 in population, qualify, with some grandfathered towns holding eligibility up to 35,000 through the 2030 census.
Here is the Washington twist. Several towns on the rural fringe of the high-cost metro counties are USDA-eligible in their rural pockets and get the higher income limit their county carries. Enumclaw in King County posts a median household income near $121,250; Buckley, Orting, and Eatonville in Pierce County run $114,000 to $133,000; Sultan and Gold Bar in Snohomish sit around $95,000 to $101,000. High-cost county, rural pocket, higher USDA limit, all at once.
Where zero-down stretches furthest is east of the Cascades, where home values run about half the Puget Sound number. Verified median household income and median home value from the Census (2024):
| Town (county) | Median household income | Median home value |
|---|---|---|
| Sunnyside (Yakima) | $60,923 | $240,700 |
| Omak (Okanogan) | $76,544 | $248,900 |
| Colville (Stevens) | $56,558 | $281,500 |
| Quincy (Grant) | $87,902 | $336,800 |
| Deer Park (Spokane) | $54,391 | $347,000 |
| Medical Lake (Spokane) | $79,989 | $368,700 |
| Ellensburg (Kittitas) | $55,438 | $404,100 |
Against a statewide median home value near $564,600 and a median income around $98,000, those eastern Washington towns put a home within reach on a normal paycheck, and USDA finances 100% of the price with no maximum loan amount.
Do not trust a ZIP code in Washington. A single Kittitas or Okanogan ZIP can fall partly inside and partly outside the boundary, so two houses on the same Ellensburg street can get different answers. Enter the full property address into the USDA property eligibility map, or use our checker below and we read the map for the exact Washington address.
We geocode the address and read the live USDA eligibility map. Informational only. USDA makes the final determination on a complete application.
The third gate: occupancy and property type
USDA is for owner-occupied primary residences only. You cannot use it for a Puget Sound rental, an Ellensburg vacation cabin, or an income-producing property, and it is meant for buyers who do not already own a suitable home nearby. Eligible property types include existing homes, new construction, condos and PUDs, and new manufactured homes titled as real property, which matters in the Yakima Valley and Columbia Basin where manufactured housing is common. An existing manufactured home generally does not qualify unless it already carries a USDA loan.
Washington assistance that pairs with USDA
The Washington State Housing Finance Commission's Home Advantage program explicitly lists Rural Housing Service, USDA, as an eligible first mortgage, so the pairing is confirmed rather than a workaround. Home Advantage carries a $180,000 statewide income limit and offers down-payment assistance worth 3% to 5% of the loan amount toward closing costs. Because USDA already finances the full purchase price, that Home Advantage assistance can cover your cash to close on a home in Enumclaw, Sunnyside, or Deer Park. Confirm current terms and the homebuyer-education requirement on the WSHFC site.
Outdated Washington numbers still floating around
A lot of USDA content aimed at Washington buyers is stale, and it costs real money. If a page shows the 1-4-person income limit as $119,850, it predates the July 13, 2026 increase to $122,800 under Procedure Notice 657; $112,450 is older still. If it tells you the guarantee fee is 2.75% or 3.5%, that is the statutory ceiling, not the 1.0% upfront and 0.35% annual USDA has actually charged since 2016. And if it claims King County earners are too well-paid for USDA, it ignores that King, Snohomish, and Pierce carry above-floor limits precisely because Seattle costs are high. Current figures are what we build every Washington file on.
USDA eligibility questions
Do the Seattle-metro counties have higher USDA income limits?
Yes. King, Snohomish, and Pierce carry USDA income limits above the $122,800 statewide floor, because USDA sets the cap at a share of area median income and the Seattle metro is among the highest-income regions in the country. Washington's own housing agency uses a $164,400 income tier for King and Snohomish versus $126,800 elsewhere, which reflects the same high-cost pattern. Check your exact county figure on USDA's income tool.
What is the 2026 USDA income limit in Washington?
The statewide USDA income floor is $122,800 for a household of one to four people and $162,100 for five to eight, effective July 13, 2026 under Procedure Notice 657. King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties around Seattle sit above that floor, while Yakima County, the Columbia Basin, and eastern Washington use the floor. Because USDA raised the limit for 2026, some Washington buyers turned away a year ago may qualify now.
Does USDA count all household income or just the borrower's in Washington?
USDA counts the income of every adult who will live in the home, not only the people on the loan. A working adult child in Ellensburg or a partner you leave off the mortgage in Enumclaw still counts toward the household total. The cap is 115% of the county's area median income, so the whole household is what matters, though USDA deductions such as $480 per dependent can pull a near-the-line household back under.
Which Washington areas are USDA-eligible?
Broad stretches of the state: the Cascade-foothill exurbs like Enumclaw and Sultan, the Olympic Peninsula beyond the Puget Sound metros, the Columbia Basin, the Palouse wheat country, and the Yakima Valley. The Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Vancouver, and Spokane urban cores are excluded. Because eligibility is set by exact address and the boundary can run mid-street, confirm the specific property on USDA's map.
Can I combine a USDA loan with Washington down-payment assistance?
Yes. The Washington State Housing Finance Commission's Home Advantage program lists USDA Rural Housing Service as an eligible first mortgage and offers down-payment assistance worth 3% to 5% of the loan toward closing costs. Because USDA already finances the full price of a home in Sunnyside or Deer Park, that assistance can cover your cash to close. Confirm current terms and the homebuyer-education requirement with WSHFC.