Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Mount Vernon earns a D, ranked 260th of 285 in Washington, mostly because of schools. Its public schools trail 76% of Washington towns on state tests and graduation. In its favor, it has 29 miles of trail. Mount Vernon’s trail density is 2.3 miles per square mile, above both Washington’s towns (0.8) and U.S. towns (0.4). Mount Vernon is home to Skagit Valley College. The typical home is worth about $582K, 6.5 years of the Mount Vernon metro’s $89K median household income.
Where Mount Vernon beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Mount Vernon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 770 in 1890, 35,219 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 6 maps from 1940 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mount Vernon, 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 Mount Vernon.
Mount Vernon has cooler summers than nearly all U.S. towns, trades workers with Seattle and other neighbors and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Washington.
Little Mountain Park, at 455 acres with 9.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Little Mountain Park | 9.6 mi | 455 |
| 2. Hillcrest Park | 1.2 mi | 28 |
| 3. Edgewater Park | 1.1 mi | 59 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Mount Vernon School District. Two of its 20 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Venture Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 663 | – |
| Mount Vernon High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,849 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 73% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 71 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Mount Vernon.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 73.3°, cooler than in 99% of U.S. towns; January nights average 35.4°.
Mount Vernon has mild winters and cool summers, with plenty of rain. At 73°F, Mount Vernon’s July high is where Washington’s towns sit at 77°F and U.S. towns at 85°F. The January low in Mount Vernon is 35°F.
| Mount Vernon | 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
Reported crimes fell from 806 to 571 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within Washington, it does better than 59% of towns.
| Mount Vernon | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14.9 per 1,000 residents | 15.1 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Mount Vernon has about as many jobs (14,936) as working residents, but only 3,431 people both live and work here.
About one in 5 of Mount Vernon’s working residents works in town. 16% of residents live below the poverty line in Mount Vernon. Jobs based in Mount Vernon grew to 14,936 in 2023, 1,670 more than in 2013.
| Mount Vernon | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 22% | 4.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $76,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within Washington it is less healthy than 77% of the 285 graded towns: Washington sets a high bar.
Mount Vernon beats the Washington average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 69% of Mount Vernon adults had a checkup this year.
| Mount Vernon | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 69% | 71% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 7.8% | 8.1% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 33% | 36% |
| What stands out | Mount Vernon | WA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 14.2% | 8.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13% | 9% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 14.5% | 10.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Mount Vernon home is worth about $583,000, up 0.8% in a year, close to the Washington typical home. Mount Vernon’s median rent is $1,405 a month.
| Mount Vernon | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 60% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,405 a month | $1,740 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mount Vernon. Close and well known come first.
Big draw34 mi MountainMount Baker
38 mi National ParkNorth Cascades National Park47K visitors a year
28 mi LandmarkFort Worden
31 mi Stadium & arenaAngel of the Winds Arena
24 mi LandmarkFort Casey
36 mi MuseumFlying Heritage CollectionMount Baker: Walter Siegmund (talk), CC BY 2.5 · North Cascades National Park: Daniel Hershman, CC BY 2.0 · Fort Worden: Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Angel of the Winds Arena: Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Casey: mikelehen, CC BY 2.0 · Flying Heritage Collection: nsimpson, CC BY-SA 2.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Mount Vernon
About 5 of every 100 Mount Vernon residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Washington.
31,743 counted in 2010 and 35,219 in 2020; an estimated 35,193 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 11% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
2 places in Mount Vernon on the National Register of Historic Places.
19 notable people were born in Mount Vernon.
County seat of Skagit County, Washington, United States
Mount Vernon is the county seat of and the most populous city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. A central location in the Skagit River Valley, the city is located 51 miles (82 km) south of the Canadian border and 60 miles (97 km) north of Seattle. The population was 35,219 at the 2020 census, making it the 35th most-populous city in Washington, with 62,966 people living in its urban area. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes Metropolitan Statistical Area, covering most of Skagit County. Mount Vernon and its surrounding areas are known for its annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, which has Mount Vernon host a street fair in downtown once …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Mount Vernon.
| Town | WA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Vernon | #260 | D | D | C+ | C− | B |
| Burlington | #268 | D | D | D | C+ | B |
| Big Lake | — | — | D | — | C+ | A |
Big Lake has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Big Lake reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Mount Vernon with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Mount Vernon grades D overall, better than 9% of U.S. towns and #260 of 285 in Washington. It grades B for health, C+ for safety and C− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Within Washington, it does better than 59% 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.
19 notable people were born here, including Jim Caviezel and Chad Lindberg.
