What are the Pros and Cons of living in Camas, Washington? That’s what we’re going over today. Watch the video or read the blog below!
PRO – High Income Area
Camas is the highest income city in Clark County, by a wide margin. As of 2022, the median household income was $112,000. In comparison, neighboring Vancouver has a median household income of around $64,000. Naturally, living in a high income area will yield a higher quality of life.
CON – Expensive Place to Live
Not surprisingly, Camas is by far the most expensive place to live. This only makes sense, considering that it has great amenities and the highest median household income. As of Spring 2022, the median home sale price was around $750,000. Vancouver, bordering directly to the West of Camas, had a median sale price around $510,000.
Neighboring cities with a 47%+ disparity in home sale price is distinct, to say the least.
PRO – Homeownership Rate
One great thing about Camas is that the homeownership rate is high, at about 77%. For comparison, Portland is in the 50% range. Stats for Vancouver were not obtained, but it’s likely somewhere between the rates of Portland and Camas.
Naturally, a high homeownership rate means people take generally better care of their properties and are “in it for the long run.”
PRO – School Ratings
Clark County has a lot of amazing, highly rated schools and school districts, and Camas ranks at the top of that list, per various sources. Many people and families move to the area specifically for the schools.
*Side note: We help lots of clients who want to be near highly rated schools and get hung up on Camas being the best, and not considering any other schools or districts. There are so many districts and schools beyond just Camas that are well loved by the people of Clark County.
PRO – Lack of Homelessness Crisis
Many people are aware that the homelessness crisis in Portland, Oregon is out of control. Thankfully in Clark County, and especially Camas, this is a much smaller issue. Some experts estimate that there are thousands of homeless people in the Portland Metro area.
Camas does a good job taking care of situations that disturb the public, and in general, the community has options and resources for people experiencing homelessness. One of our personal favorites is Family Promise of Clark County, whose goal is to get families back on their feet and self-sustaining.
PRO – Neighborhoods Well Taken Care Of
Camas is an area in Clark County where nearly every subdivision you drive through is well taken care of and presentable.
PRO – Sense of Community
Every year, Camas puts on great community events. In the summer, its ‘Camas Day’s‘ summer festival is a huge hit. The Camas Farmer’s Market runs part of the year on Wednesdays, and every First Friday of the month, The Camas Downtown Association puts on ‘Camas First Friday,‘ with shopping, events for kids, a fun theme, and good company.
PS, if you want to know more about fun local events happening in Camas & Clark County, you should sign up for our weekend newsletter, ‘Weekend Happenings with Hannah’ where we give you the best 5-6 events happening every single weekend!
PRO – Our Lakes
Did you know? – Camas has THREE lakes accessible to the public? Lacamas Lake, Round Lake, and Fallen Leaf Lake are all clustered near the middle of the city and are great places to run, walk, kayak/paddleboard, or have a gathering with friends.
Heritage Park, the park connected to Lacamas Lake, has a boat launch, plenty of parking, seasonal paddle board rentals, and Lacamas Lake Lodge, a great place to rent for an event or gathering.
The only con of the lakes is that many seasons, they have algae blooms, which makes swimming not optimal. But, it’s great to enjoy if you’re on top of the water!
CON – Papermill Still In Production
If you’ve read into Camas, you know that the city’s main source of jobs back in the day was the Camas Paper Mill. Camas had a stigma for smelling bad because of the mill.
Now days, the papermill is no longer producing paper. The papermill still exists and has about 150 employees as of 2022. It’s owned by Georgia Pacific and it’s anticipated that it will be completely shut down and eventually removed within the next few decades.
Upon that happening, the city hopes to develop that land further into businesses or community space. The cleanup will be a lengthy job.
In Summary
In our professional opinion, the pros of Camas much outweigh the cons!
As long as you can acknowledge that Camas is much more expensive than it’s neighboring cities, Camas is a great place to be.
If you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in Camas, Washington, we would love to be of service to you here at Dubyne Realty Group. Please reach out to us using the form at the bottom of this page!