Moving to Richland for PNNL, Hanford or Kadlec: Where to Live

Moving to Richland, WA usually starts with an offer letter: a job at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, at Hanford, at Kadlec Regional Medical Center or at WSU Tri-Cities. Then comes the start date, which doesn't care how long a house hunt takes. You need to know which part of town fits before you've spent much time here.

I'm Brandon Muzatko, a REALTOR® and Washington Managing Broker with TKO Realty Group at Real Broker, LLC. My own family moved to the Tri-Cities in 2022, so I remember learning these cities from scratch.

Locals split Richland into two halves, roughly at I-182. Richland has about 64,930 people in all.

• North Richland is closest to PNNL, Hanford and WSU Tri-Cities, with many older neighborhoods and plenty of shopping and restaurants.
• South Richland has larger, mature subdivisions near Badger Mountain and the Queensgate shopping area, which has Target, Walmart, Home Depot and the new Costco that opened in 2026.

Neither half is better in general. It comes down to your commute, your budget and what you need in a house.

Highway 240, the Bypass Highway, is the route to Hanford, and it gets busy at shift changes. George Washington Way is the main road through downtown Richland, and I-182 runs through the middle of town. A drive that takes a few minutes on a Sunday can look different at 7 a.m. on a weekday, so I map your commute at the times you'd actually make it.

Some people working in Richland live in West Richland, which has more land and newer development and is still in the Richland School District, or in Kennewick, across the river.

Most of Richland is in the Richland School District, which serves Richland and West Richland with ten elementary schools, four middle schools and three high schools. But some South Richland homes are in the Kennewick School District instead. Willowbrook is split between the two depending on the address, and all of Willowbrook Heights is in Kennewick's. If schools matter to you, I confirm the district for every home you look at.

When you can't be here, I tour homes for you on a live FaceTime call, room by room, and tell you what the camera doesn't show: the road noise, the slope of the yard, the neighbor's air conditioner. You fly in only for the homes worth the trip, or not at all. Your inspection still protects you before you're committed.

Get pre-approved before you arrive, know how firm your start date and your current lease or home sale are, and we'll line the closing up with your timeline.

Read the full guide to relocating to Richland and buying a home in Richland. I also have a free Tri-Cities Relocation Guide covering the four cities, housing, utilities and your first 30 days. Text me at 509-869-8777 and I'll send it, or contact me to plan your move to Richland.