Sultan's housing reflects its setting as a small city at the edge of the Cascades. The city offers a mix of established homes in its historic downtown core and newer single-family subdivisions that have developed as Sultan has grown, with the Skykomish and Sultan rivers shaping the city's boundaries and views. The 3.15-square-mile city provides a range of single-family housing, often with proximity to rivers, foothills, and mountain scenery. As a Sky Valley community about 23 miles east of Everett, Sultan tends to appeal to buyers seeking more space and a small-town, outdoors-oriented lifestyle at a lower density than the Puget Sound urban corridor, while U.S. Route 2 keeps the region accessible.

Sultan is organized around its historic downtown, where Main Street and the area near River Park anchor the city's older residential core and community life. From there, neighborhoods extend across the city's 3.15 square miles, generally bounded by the Skykomish River to the south and the Sultan River and county roads to the west and north. The city's growth has added newer subdivisions to the established downtown, giving residents a mix of historic in-town streets and newer residential areas, all within a short drive of U.S. Route 2. The surrounding Skykomish Valley communities of Startup, Gold Bar, and Index extend the area's foothill character eastward toward the mountains.

Sultan offers the character of a Cascade foothills town with a strong sense of its own history. The city's logging heritage is central to local identity, celebrated each summer at the Sultan Shindig, when the streets fill with a logging show, street fair, car show, parade, and fireworks. Daily life moves at a relaxed, off-the-beaten-path pace, framed by the Skykomish and Sultan rivers and the rising foothills. River Park, at the corner of 1st and Main downtown, serves as a community gathering place. For shopping, employment, and urban amenities, residents look west toward Monroe and Everett, while weekends draw them east into the mountains along the Cascade Loop.

Sultan is served by the Sultan School District, a public school district based in the city that enrolls about 2,000 students across its elementary, middle, and high schools. The district serves Sultan and the surrounding upper Skykomish Valley communities, making it the educational anchor for the area's smaller towns along U.S. Route 2. Sultan High School is the district's high school campus, and the district's schools are a focal point for community events and athletics. For higher education, residents are within reach of Everett Community College and the broader institutions of the Puget Sound region, including the University of Washington's Bothell campus.

Sultan sits along U.S. Route 2, the primary east-west corridor through the Skykomish Valley, connecting the city west toward Monroe and Everett and east toward Gold Bar, Index, and Stevens Pass. The BNSF Railway also runs through the city, a reminder of its rail and timber heritage. The city's location about 23 miles east of Everett places it within commuting range of Snohomish County's urban centers, while U.S. Route 2 continues as part of the Cascade Loop National Scenic Byway into the mountains. Daily travel is car-oriented, consistent with the area's foothill, small-town setting, with Everett and the greater Seattle region reached via the U.S. 2 corridor.

Sultan's recreation is defined by its rivers and its position on the edge of the Cascades. The Skykomish River, which runs along the city's southern edge, supports fishing and riverside activities, and River Park in downtown provides a local gathering spot along the water. To the east, U.S. Route 2 climbs to Stevens Pass, a 4,061-foot mountain gateway offering winter skiing and snowboarding along with hiking, climbing, and backcountry access in the surrounding national forest. The Cascade Loop National Scenic Byway runs through Sultan, and the nearby Skykomish Valley towns of Gold Bar and Index add trailheads and river access. The Sultan Shindig's logging show rounds out the community's recreation calendar with a distinctly local tradition.