Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Anacortes grades B overall, 72nd of 285 graded towns in Washington. It has 61 miles of trail and 35% conserved land. Its schools rank ahead of 89% of Washington towns and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 88% of the country. What holds it back is price: homes are expensive, about $713K for a typical one and 8 times the Mount Vernon metro’s $89K median household income. 32% of residents are 65 or older in Anacortes, where Washington’s towns sit at 16% and U.S. towns at 18%. On hazard risk, just 28 of Washington’s 397 towns do better. Anacortes has 11 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them W. T. PRESTON (snagboat) and Wilson Hotel.
Where Anacortes beats most towns.
W. T. PRESTON (snagboat) is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,131 in 1890, 17,637 in 2020. The archive holds 23 old photos and papers going back to 1885 and 4 maps from 1943 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Anacortes is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Anacortes. Close and well known come first.
25 mi LandmarkFort Worden
36 mi LandmarkPeace Arch
23 mi LandmarkFort Casey
32 mi BeachDungeness Spit
16 mi National Historical ParkSan Juan Island National Historical Park421K visitors a year
16 mi National park siteEbey's Landing National Historical ReserveFort Worden: Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Peace Arch: Arnold C (User:Buchanan-Hermit), Attribution · Fort Casey: mikelehen, CC BY 2.0 · Dungeness Spit: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · San Juan Island National Historical Park: Chris Light (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve: Rspang, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Anacortes, and how to reach them.
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 Anacortes.
Anacortes carries less natural-hazard risk than nearly all of Washington (mostly earthquakes), keeps more of its land conserved than most of Washington and has cooler summers than nearly all U.S. towns.
Its 3,512 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 99% of Washington towns. Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #5 of 285 in Washington.
Trails total 61 miles in 18 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Anacortes Community Forest Lands, 2,023 acres with 30.6 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Anacortes Community Forest Lands | 30.6 mi | 2,023 |
| 2. Cranberry Lake Park ACFL | 14.7 mi | 707 |
| 3. Washington Park | 4.6 mi | 211 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
That grade comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $713K.
Two of the 10 schools are below, and why each made the list. Public schools: the Anacortes School District. The largest public high school is Anacortes High School, with 766 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anacortes Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 617 | – |
| Anacortes High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 766 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
For adults in Anacortes, the share who binge drink is 15%. The town does better than the Washington average on 12 of 31 CDC measures and worse on 6. Among adults in the town, 14% report frequent mental distress and 9.1% smoke cigarettes.
| Anacortes | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.1% | 11% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 71% | 79% |
| What stands out | Anacortes | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7% | 10.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7% | 9.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In Anacortes, 47% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more. People 65 and older are nearly a third of residents (17% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 14% of residents (24% statewide). Also worth knowing: the age of the median resident in the town is 50.5 years. The town is growing: up 2.6% since 2020, to 18,080 residents (2025 estimate).
| Anacortes | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 50.5 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 47% | 30% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 17% | 22% | 22% |
50.6% women, 49.4% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±0.9 points. Across Washington, 49.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 53.8, men 47.8.
| Anacortes | WA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.9% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.4% | 9.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.5% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.9% | 15.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.5% | 14.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.6% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.2% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 18.3% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 13.7% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.2% | 7.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 17.6% | 21.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.7% | 21% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.3% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 27.6% | 24% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 19.6% | 15.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk lower than 91% of Washington towns, with expected losses of about $299 per resident a year; that rating is what its B+ for hazard risk is built on.
60% of Anacortes’s expected losses from natural hazards come from earthquakes, followed by inland flooding at 32%. Anacortes’ FEMA hazard score stands at 29 of 100. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Anacortes after 9 declared disasters, most recently in 2025.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 8 years of the Mount Vernon metro’s $89K median household income, the typical home (about $713K) costs more against local pay than in 87% of Washington towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
On the market in Anacortes: a median 19 days to sell. Zillow values the typical Anacortes home at about $713,000, about the same as a year ago, 21% above the Washington typical home. Anacortes’ median rent comes in at $1,702 a month.
| Anacortes | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,702 a month | $1,740 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 70% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
July afternoons average 72.6°, cooler than in 99% of U.S. towns; January nights average 35.3°.
In Anacortes, the typical July afternoon high is 73°F. About 3 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Anacortes | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 73°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 35°F | 35°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Anacortes has about as many jobs (6,258) as working residents, but only 1,963 people both live and work here.
Among working residents in Anacortes, 27% work locally. Employers in Anacortes added 605 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 6,258. The top destinations are Seattle (10%), Mount Vernon (6%) and Bellingham (5%). In Anacortes, the average trip to work is 24 minutes.
| Anacortes | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 27% | 4.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $92,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.3% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 432 to 239 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within Washington, it does better than just over two thirds of towns. Anacortes’ violent crime rate is 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Anacortes | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 12.4 per 1,000 residents | 15.1 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of Anacortes
About 3 of every 100 Anacortes residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
35.3% of the town is conserved land, across 18 parks and preserves.
11 places in Anacortes on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Anacortes.
City in Washington, United States
Anacortes ( AN-ə-KOR-təs) is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is an adaptation of the name of Anne Curtis Bowman, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman. Anacortes' population was 17,637 at the time of the 2020 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes Metropolitan Statistical Area. Anacortes is known for the Washington State Ferries dock and terminal serving Lopez Island, Shaw Island, Orcas Island, and San Juan Island. There is also a Skagit County-operated ferry that serves Guemes Island, a residential island located across Guemes Channel, north of Anacortes.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Anacortes grades B overall, better than 64% of U.S. towns and #72 of 285 in Washington. It grades A for health, B− for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Within Washington, it does better than 68% of towns.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
9 notable people were born here, including James Okubo and Phil Elverum.
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