Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Edmonds grades B overall, 98th among Washington's 285 graded towns. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 95% of U.S. towns. Residents are healthier than 95% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and the median household earns $122K. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $899K for a typical one and 7.8 times the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income. Edmonds’ trail density is 1.4 miles per square mile, above both the Washington town median (0.8) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Southwest County Olympic View Park, at 113 acres with 3.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Edmonds beats most towns.
Where Edmonds’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Edmonds is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 474 in 1900, 42,853 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1888 and 4 maps from 1942 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Edmonds. Close and well known come first.
Big draw13 mi LookoutSpace Needle
Big draw13 mi Stadium & arenaClimate Pledge Arena
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaLumen Field
15 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile Park
15 mi Ancient siteSeattle Underground
12 mi Stadium & arenaHusky StadiumSpace Needle: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Climate Pledge Arena: Sea Cow, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lumen Field: "Smart Destinations", GoSeattleCard.com, and Go Seattle Card Blog, CC BY-SA 2.0 · T-Mobile Park: MyName (Cacophony), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Seattle Underground: Mark Hursh, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Husky Stadium: Atomic Taco, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Edmonds, 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 Edmonds.
Edmonds fares better on crime within Washington than nationally and has fewer 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Washington.
Its widest gap with Washington is food insecurity: 6.5% of its 35,484 adults worry about having enough food, against 10.2% statewide.
14% of Edmonds adults report frequent mental distress, where Washington’s towns sit at 17% and U.S. towns at 17%. 7.7% of adults smoke cigarettes in Edmonds. Edmonds beats the Washington average on 17 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 3.
| Edmonds | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.7% | 11% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 25% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 33% | 35% |
| What stands out | Edmonds | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.5% | 10.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 6.4% | 9.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.6% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Edmonds School District. Two of its 11 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madrona K-8 SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 636 | – |
| Edmonds Woodway High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,605 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
14 miles of trail in 16 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Southwest County Olympic View Park | 3.1 mi | 113 |
| 2. Yost Park | 2 mi | 43 |
| 3. Pine Ridge Park | 1 mi | 24 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 7.8 years of the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income, the typical home (about $899K) costs more against local pay than in 86% of Washington towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
The median rent in Edmonds is $1,903 a month. The typical Edmonds home is worth about $899,000, down 0.6% in a year, 53% above the Washington typical home.
| Edmonds | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,903 a month | $1,737 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 45% | 51% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 33.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 62% of Washington’s graded towns.
Edmonds’ property crime rate is 20.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Edmonds | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 20.2 per 1,000 residents | 15 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.1 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave Edmonds for work: only 7% work in town. 28% of Edmonds workers work from home. Since 2013, Edmonds has added 2,534 jobs, to 12,894 in 2023.
| Edmonds | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 28% | 15% | 11% |
| Median household income | $122,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.8% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Seattle Sand Pt Wsfo weather station, 10 miles away, records that about 2 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 95% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 74.8°, cooler than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 35.9°.
Edmonds has mild winters and cool summers. About 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Edmonds | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 75°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 36°F | 35°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 67% of U.S. communities. Since 1986, 19 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Edmonds.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
20 within 15 miles of the center of Edmonds
About 5 of every 100 Edmonds residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Washington.
19 notable people were born in Edmonds.
City in Washington, United States
Edmonds is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is located in the southwest corner of the county, facing Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains to the west. The city is part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is located 15 miles (24 km) north of Seattle and 18 miles (29 km) southwest of Everett. With a population of 42,853 residents in the 2020 U.S. census, Edmonds is the third most populous city in the county. Edmonds was established in 1876 by logger George Brackett, who bought the land claim of an earlier settler. It was incorporated as a city in 1890, shortly before the arrival of the Great Northern Railway. Early residents of the city were employed by the shingle …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Edmonds.
| Town | WA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmonds | #98 | B | D | C− | B+ | A |
| Lynnwood | #200 | C | D | D− | B+ | B+ |
| Mountlake Terrace | #100 | B | D | C | B+ | A |
| Woodway | — | — | D− | — | B+ | A+ |
| Meadowdale | #26 | A− | C− | — | B+ | A |
| Shoreline | #64 | B+ | D | C | A | A+ |
Woodway has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Woodway and Meadowdale report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Edmonds with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Edmonds grades B overall, better than 57% of U.S. towns and #98 of 285 in Washington. It grades A for health, C− for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
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.
Edmonds was established in 1876 and has 1 place on the National Register of Historic Places. 19 notable people were born here, including Andra Day and Martell Webster.
