Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 22,139, incorporated in 1949. Public schools that outperform most of Washington.
Trash & recyclingFor most people who can afford it, yes. Bonney Lake grades B overall, 75th among Washington's 285 graded towns. The median household earns $137K. Its schools rank ahead of 88% of Washington towns. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $665K, 5.8 years of the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income. Bonney Lake’s going rate for rent is $2,256 a month, above both the Washington town median ($1,737 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). Only 7 of Washington’s 397 towns score lower on history. The biggest park or preserve is Allan Yorke Park, at 45 acres.
Where Bonney Lake beats most towns.
17,374 counted in 2010 and 22,487 in 2020; an estimated 22,139 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Bonney Lake is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 275 in 1950, 22,487 in 2020. The archive holds 22 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 5 maps from 1942 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bonney Lake. Close and well known come first.
Big draw30 mi LookoutSpace Needle
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaLumen Field
Big draw31 mi Stadium & arenaClimate Pledge Arena
28 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile Park
9 mi Theme parkWild Waves Theme Park
13 mi Stadium & arenaTacoma DomeSpace 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 · T-Mobile Park: MyName (Cacophony), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wild Waves Theme Park: Jessica Spengler from Hove, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0 · Tacoma Dome: Broran28, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bonney Lake, 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 Bonney Lake.
Bonney Lake has cooler summers than nearly all U.S. towns, has seen reported crime fall by a third or more and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Washington.
That grade comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $665K.
The public schools here belong to the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. The largest public high school is Bonney Lake High School, with 1,643 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain View Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 937 | – |
| Bonney Lake High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,643 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
6.3 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. The concentration of trails in Bonney Lake is 0.8 miles per square mile. Parks and preserves in the town: 6, covering 136 acres.
| Bonney Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.8% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Midtown Park | 2.1 mi | 42 |
| 2. Allan Yorke Park | 0.9 mi | 45 |
| 3. Swiss Sportsman Club Park | — | 42 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Jobs based here grew from 3,422 in 2013 to 5,166.
For most workers, Bonney Lake is a place to come home to: only 3% work in town. Jobs based in Bonney Lake grew to 5,166 in 2023, 1,744 more than in 2013. Also worth knowing: the town’s mean commuting time comes in at 32 minutes. The top destinations are Seattle (13%), Tacoma (8%) and Kent (8%).
| Bonney Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $137,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4.5% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 16% | 15% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within Washington it is less healthy than 53% of the 285 graded towns: Washington sets a high bar. Against the 3,865 U.S. towns with household incomes like Bonney Lake’s, it is less healthy than 73%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
In Bonney Lake, nearly a fifth of adults report frequent mental distress. CDC measures, 31 in all: Bonney Lake beats Washington on 5 and trails on 6. Among adults in the town, 19% binge drink and 28% have been diagnosed with depression.
| Bonney Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 69% | 71% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 26% | 23% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 25% |
| What stands out | Bonney Lake | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.6% | 9% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.4% | 5.4% |
| More adults with obesity | 36.3% | 30.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons average 76.5°, cooler than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 34.9°.
About 4 inches of snow falls in a winter. In Bonney Lake, the July high is 77°F.
| Bonney Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 77°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 35°F | 35°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For residents in Bonney Lake, the share who are under 18 is 29%. Children under 18 are 29% of residents (21% statewide); people 65 and older are 11% of residents (17% statewide). 22,139 people lived in Bonney Lake by the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate, 2.2% more than in 2020. Four-year graduates: 30% of adults 25 and older here, 40% across Washington.
| Bonney Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 29% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 11% | 16% | 18% |
| Median age | 36.9 years | 38.6 years | 40.5 years |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.5 points. Across Washington, 49.6% of residents are women. Median age: women 38.0, men 36.2.
| Bonney Lake | WA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 14.4% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 14.1% | 9.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.2% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.5% | 15.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 16.7% | 14.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.2% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.9% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.1% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.9% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.9% | 7.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.3% | 21.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 27.1% | 21% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.5% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.6% | 24% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.5% | 15.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Reported crimes fell from 500 to 309 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within Washington, it does better than 62% of towns. Bonney Lake’s level of violent crime stands at 1 per 1,000 residents.
| Bonney Lake | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 12.9 per 1,000 residents | 15.1 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Among households in Bonney Lake, 79% are owner-occupiers. Zillow values the typical Bonney Lake home at about $665,000, about the same as a year ago, 13% above the Washington typical home. A home in Bonney Lake typically sold within 11 days of listing.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Compared with 57% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Bonney Lake is higher. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 44% come from earthquakes and 25% from inland flooding. Since 2006, Bonney Lake has seen 3 flood insurance claims paid out.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
6 within 15 miles of the center of Bonney Lake
About 4 of every 100 Bonney Lake residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
Where Bonney Lake’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Washington, United States
Bonney Lake is a very busy city in Pierce County, Washington named for William P. Bonney. The population was 22,487 at the time of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Bonney Lake.
| Town | WA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonney Lake | #75 | B | C− | C+ | A | B+ |
| Alderton | #113 | B− | C+ | — | A | B |
| Lake Tapps | #69 | B+ | D | — | A | A− |
| Prairie Ridge | #77 | B | C | — | A | B+ |
| Prairie Heights | #79 | B | C+ | — | A− | B− |
| Sumner | #159 | C+ | D | D | A | B |
Alderton, Lake Tapps, Prairie Ridge and Prairie Heights report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Bonney Lake with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Bonney Lake grades B overall, better than 64% of U.S. towns and #75 of 285 in Washington. It grades B+ for health, C+ for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Within Washington, it does better than 62% 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 C−.
Bonney Lake was incorporated in 1949. 2 notable people were born here, including Dylan Gambrell and Josh Penner.
