Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Alderton’s grades pull in different directions. Schools are its strong suit: its schools outperform 88% of the state's. Where it falls short is walkability. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 81% of U.S. towns. At about $432K, a typical home costs 3.7 years of the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income. It also trails on hazard risk (D): FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 78% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Overall, that makes a B−, good for 113th of 285 in Washington. On that grade it does better than 54% of U.S. towns.
Figures: schools, state test and graduation results · FEMA National Risk Index · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24.
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.
The biggest park or preserve is Riverside Park, at 40 acres. Walkers can cover 8.0 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. Alderton’s density of trails stands at 1.4 miles per square mile, against 0.8 in Washington’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns.
| 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.
Half of commuters travel less than 14 miles. Alderton’s typical journey to work comes in at 32 minutes. Most working residents leave Alderton for work: only 2% work in town. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs here rose by 182, to 729.
| 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
44% of Alderton’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by earthquakes at 36%. Flood insurance has paid out on 53 claims locally since 1990.
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°.
The January low for Alderton comes to 35°F. Its midsummer high stands at 78°F, where Washington’s towns sit at 77°F and U.S. towns at 85°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.
The share of adults in Alderton who had a checkup this year: 72%. On the CDC’s 31 measures, Alderton is ahead of Washington on 1 and behind on 12. In Alderton, 27% of adults have been diagnosed with depression, and 37% have obesity.
| 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
Alderton’s rent at the middle of the market is $1,633 a month. In Alderton, 79% of households own their home.
| 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+.
