Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Alderton is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B− overall, 113th of 285 graded towns in Washington, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools rank ahead of 88% of Washington towns. It also does better than most on health: residents are healthier than 61% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. A typical home there costs about $432K, 3.7 years of the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income. Alderton’s trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile, against 0.8 in Washington’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Only 39 of Washington’s 396 towns score lower on walkability. Alderton has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Charles W. Orton House and McMillin School.
Where Alderton beats most towns.
2,893 counted in 2010 and 3,274 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Alderton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 2022 and 5 maps from 1942 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Alderton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw31 mi LookoutSpace Needle
Big draw29 mi Stadium & arenaLumen Field
Big draw31 mi Stadium & arenaClimate Pledge Arena
8 mi Theme parkWild Waves Theme Park
10 mi Stadium & arenaTacoma Dome
29 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile ParkSpace Needle: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lumen Field: "Smart Destinations", GoSeattleCard.com, and Go Seattle Card Blog, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Climate Pledge Arena: Sea Cow, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wild Waves Theme Park: Jessica Spengler from Hove, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0 · Tacoma Dome: Broran28, Public domain · T-Mobile Park: MyName (Cacophony), CC BY-SA 3.0
Alderton is unincorporated, so Pierce County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Alderton.
Alderton has cooler summers than nearly all U.S. towns, has added a third more jobs in ten years and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Washington.
8.0 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Riverside Park, at 40 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Riverside Park | — | 40 |
| 2. Van Lierop Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cascade Christian School - McAlder Elementary PrivateLargest elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 395 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
Jobs based here grew from 547 in 2013 to 729.
Most working residents leave Alderton for work: only 2% work in town. Alderton’s average trip to work is 32 minutes, where Washington’s towns sit at 27 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Since 2013, Alderton has added 182 jobs, to 729 in 2023.
| Alderton | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.5% | 5% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $97,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 78% of U.S. communities. Since 1990, 53 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Alderton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 77.7°, cooler than in 96% of U.S. towns; January nights average 35.3°.
Alderton has mild winters and pleasant summers. Alderton’s July high is 78°F. About 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Alderton | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 78°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 35°F | 35°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Within Washington it is less healthy than 74% of the 285 graded towns: Washington sets a high bar. Against the 8,938 U.S. towns with household incomes like Alderton’s, it is less healthy than 55%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
72% of adults had a checkup this year in Alderton. Alderton beats the Washington average on 1 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 27% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Alderton.
| Alderton | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 71% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 26% | 23% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Alderton | WA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults getting cholesterol checked | 85.6% | 84% |
| More adults with arthritis | 30% | 24.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median rent in Alderton is $1,633 a month.
| Alderton | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 79% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,633 a month | $1,740 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
9 within 15 miles of the center of Alderton
About 4 of every 100 Alderton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
Where Alderton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Alderton on the National Register of Historic Places.
CDP in Washington, United States
Alderton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington, United States. As of the 2020 census, Alderton had a population of 3,274. The community is located in the Puyallup River Valley between the cities of Sumner and Orting.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Alderton.
| Town | WA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alderton | #113 | B− | C+ | — | A | B |
| Bonney Lake | #75 | B | C− | C+ | A | B+ |
| Sumner | #159 | C+ | D | D | A | B |
| Puyallup | #195 | C | C− | D | B+ | B |
| McMillin | — | — | C | — | A− | B |
McMillin has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Alderton and McMillin report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Alderton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Alderton grades B− overall, better than 54% of U.S. towns and #113 of 285 in Washington. It grades B for health and A for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
The typical home is worth about $432,000, 27% below the Washington typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
