Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Eatonville gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $587K, 5.1 years of the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income. It grades B− overall, ranked 118th of 285 in Washington. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 81% of U.S. communities, with avalanches at the top. On the plus side, 3% of its land is conserved. Eatonville’s typical journey to work is 40 minutes, above both the Washington town median (27 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). John Galbraith House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Among 132 Washington towns, just 5 have a lower property crime rate than Eatonville.
Where Eatonville beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Eatonville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 754 in 1910, 2,845 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1893 and 4 maps from 1941 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Eatonville, 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 Eatonville.
Eatonville trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and has cooler summers than nearly all U.S. towns, but it is a long drive from an emergency room.
Trails run 3.7 miles in 5 parks and preserves. For Eatonville, the trail network density is 2.1 miles per square mile.
| Eatonville | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 2.1 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.6% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Millpond Park | 0.4 mi | 7 |
| 2. Smallwood Park | 0.3 mi | 11 |
| 3. Paul Kruger Memorial Field | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Below: Two of its 5 schools, each with why it was picked. The largest public high school is Eatonville High School, with 573 students. The public schools here belong to the Eatonville School District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eatonville Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 425 | – |
| Eatonville High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 573 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
Federal aid has come to Eatonville households in 6 declared disasters; the latest was in 2025. Two thirds of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from avalanches, followed by inland flooding at 18%.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 76.9°, cooler than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 34°.
The peak summer temperature locally is 77°F. About 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Eatonville | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 77°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 34°F | 35°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 1,101 working residents takes 40.4 minutes, against 26.6 across Washington.
Most people who work leave Eatonville to do it: just 14% work in town. The share of residents in Eatonville who live below the poverty line: 2.8%. Jobs in Eatonville grew by 198 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 885. The top destinations are Tacoma (11%), Seattle (8%) and Puyallup (4%).
| Eatonville | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 2.8% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $115,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 4.8% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Eatonville’s violent crime rate is 5.2 per 1,000 residents. Within Washington, it does better than 63% of towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The nearest emergency room, Multicare Good Samaritan Hospital, is 21.4 miles away in a straight line. Within Washington it is less healthy than 80% of the 285 graded towns: Washington sets a high bar.
Among adults in Eatonville, 70% had a checkup this year. In Eatonville, 29% of adults have been diagnosed with depression.
| Eatonville | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 26% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 71% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | Eatonville | WA |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 13.3% | 10.1% |
| More adults with obesity | 37.9% | 30.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 6.3% | 5.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Homes are within reach (about $587K for the typical one, A− for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 28 miles.
The going rate for rent for Eatonville comes to $979 a month. Homes locally are typically worth about $587,000, up 0.6% in a year, close to the Washington typical home. For households in the town, the share who own their home is 79%.
| Eatonville | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $979 a month | $1,740 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 79% | 70% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Eatonville; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 Eatonville residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Washington.
Town in Washington, United States
Eatonville is a town in Pierce County, Washington, United States. It is 32 mi (51 km) south of Tacoma. The population was 2,845 at the 2020 census. The town motto is "Better Together."
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Eatonville grades B− overall, better than 53% of U.S. towns and #118 of 285 in Washington. It grades B− for health, C+ for safety and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Within Washington, it does better than 63% of towns.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
