It serves as a hub for agricultural and forestry industries in north central Okanogan County.

It is the location of three major fruit storage and processing facilities and the offices of the Tonasket Ranger District of the Colville National Forest.

Many descendants of pioneer families still reside in Tonasket and the surrounding areas and are interested in preserving and sharing the history of their heritage.

A son of one of those pioneer families, Walter H. Brattain, grew up on a cattle ranch near Tonasket, attended Tonasket schools and shared the 1956 Nobel Prize for Physics (with William Shockley and John Bardeen) for the invention of the transistor.

[5] In 1973, Michael Pilarski of the Friends of the Trees Society organized a faire in Tonasket that sought to help community members provision and sell excess produce and goods before the winter months.

This faire has become known as the Okanogan Family Barter Faire and attendees buy, sell, and trade art and handicrafts, vintage clothing, and homegrown produce and can learn about sustainable farming techniques and herbal remedies while enjoying live music and entertainment.

[6] The annual event draws in thousands of visitors from around the region and has been described as a celebration of sustainable living and communal ties.

[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.80 square miles (2.07 km2), all of it land.

[8] Tonasket Municipal Airport (W01) opened to the public in July 1990 with one paved runway of 3,053 ft (931 m) in length, situated 2 miles (3 km) northwest of town on 100 acres (40 ha) of land.