Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town was settled in 1854 and has 19,839 residents today.
Port Orchard’s weakest is cost of living (D): the typical home is worth about $556K, 5.3 years of the Bremerton metro’s $104K median household income. Walkability is its strong suit (A) — it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 93% of U.S. towns. Overall, that makes a C, good for 181st of 285 in Washington. Set against the rest, it does better than 33% of U.S. towns. Masonic Hall- Port Orchard is on the National Register of Historic Places. The town reports more crime per resident than 85% of U.S. towns, including 59 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. The biggest place to walk is McCormick Woods Trail System, 228 acres with 4.5 miles of trail.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FBI crime data, 2025 · National Register of Historic Places · OpenStreetMap.
Where Port Orchard beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Port Orchard | WA |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 12.2% | 10.1% |
11,144 counted in 2010 and 15,587 in 2020; an estimated 19,839 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 27.3% since 2020, after 39.9% in the decade before.
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 Port Orchard is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 226 in 1890, 15,587 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and 5 maps from 1937 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Port Orchard. Close and well known come first.
Big draw14 mi LookoutSpace Needle
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaClimate Pledge Arena
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaLumen Field
15 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile Park
Big draw25 mi National ParkOlympic National Park3.6M visitors a year
15 mi Ancient siteSeattle UndergroundSpace 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 · Olympic National Park: Wsiegmund, CC BY 2.5 · Seattle Underground: Mark Hursh, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Port Orchard, 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 Port Orchard.
Port Orchard has cooler summers than nearly all U.S. towns, fares better on crime within Washington than nationally and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Washington.
At 41.9 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 73% of Washington’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 667 to 506 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The level of violent crime for Port Orchard comes to 2.9 per 1,000 residents, above both the Washington town median (1.5) and the median of U.S. towns (1.6). The property offense rate for Port Orchard comes to 22.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Port Orchard | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 22.2 per 1,000 residents | 15 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.9 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Below: Two of its 7 schools, each with why it was picked. The largest public high school is South Kitsap High School, with 2,448 students. The public schools here belong to the South Kitsap School District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar Heights Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 689 | – |
| South Kitsap High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,448 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
Within Washington it is less healthy than 55% of the 285 graded towns: Washington sets a high bar.
Among adults in Port Orchard, 17% binge drink. 70% of Port Orchard adults had a checkup this year, where Washington’s towns sit at 71% and U.S. towns at 79%. In Port Orchard, 27% of adults have been diagnosed with depression, and 18% report frequent mental distress.
| Port Orchard | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 71% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 26% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 25% |
| What stands out | Port Orchard | WA |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 12.2% | 10.1% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 8.1% | 7.2% |
| Fewer adults getting cholesterol checked | 81.4% | 84% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Storm and flood damage is expected to run higher than in 76% of U.S. communities. Since 2022, Port Orchard has seen 2 flood insurance claims paid out. FEMA puts nearly four fifths of the town’s expected hazard losses down to earthquakes, and 11% to inland flooding. Federal aid has come to Port Orchard households in 4 declared disasters; the latest was in 2007.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Across 12 parks and preserves: 7.3 miles of trail. Parks and preserves in Port Orchard: 12, covering 312 acres. Also worth knowing: the town’s concentration of trails stands at 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Port Orchard | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.5% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. McCormick Woods Trail System | 4.5 mi | 228 |
| 2. McCormick Village Park | 0.3 mi | 7 |
| 3. Veterans Memorial Park | — | 53 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
July afternoons average 76.5°, cooler than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 35.9°.
In Port Orchard, the January low is 36°F. About 3 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Port Orchard | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 77°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 36°F | 35°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Port Orchard’s mean commuting time comes in at 33 minutes. Commuting out is the norm here: 10% of working residents work locally. Employers in Port Orchard added 617 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 7,133. The top destinations are Seattle (15%), Bremerton (10%) and Tacoma (5%).
| Port Orchard | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.8% | 4.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $90,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 13% | 15% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Washington average. Port Orchard’s midpoint age is 35 years. It is growing: up 27% since 2020, to 19,839 residents (2025 estimate). Just over a third of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in the town.
| Port Orchard | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 35 years | 38.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 30% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 16% | 16% | 18% |
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.8 points. Across Washington, 49.6% of residents are women. Among residents 45 to 54, 63% are men (WA 51%).
| Port Orchard | WA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 15.5% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.9% | 9.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.6% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 19% | 15.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.9% | 14.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.5% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.1% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.1% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.6% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.4% | 7.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 22.5% | 21.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 24.2% | 21% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.3% | 24% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.6% | 15.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The share of households in Port Orchard who live in a home they own: 62%. The typical Port Orchard home is worth about $556,000, up 1.7% in a year, 5% below the Washington typical home. The going rate for rent in the town is $1,797 a month.
| Port Orchard | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,797 a month | $1,737 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 62% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
9 within 15 miles of the center of Port Orchard
About 4 of every 100 Port Orchard residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
City in Washington, United States
Port Orchard is a city in and the county seat of Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is located 13 miles (21 km) due west of West Seattle and south from Bremerton across Sinclair Inlet. Port Orchard is connected to Seattle and Vashon Island via the Washington State Ferries run to Southworth. The city is named after Port Orchard, the strait that separates Bainbridge Island from the Kitsap Peninsula. The population was 15,587 in the 2020 census, and estimated to be 17,089 in 2022. Together with its two major suburbs, East Port Orchard and Parkwood, the population is over 28,000.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Port Orchard.
Navy Yard City next door grades lower for schools (C− to Port Orchard’s B+) and higher for cost of living (C to D).
| Town | WA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Orchard | #181 | C | D | C− | B+ | B+ |
| East Port Orchard | #147 | C+ | C | — | B+ | B− |
| Parkwood | #88 | B | C− | — | B+ | B+ |
| Gorst | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bethel | #83 | B | B | — | B+ | A− |
| Navy Yard City | #224 | C− | C | — | C− | B− |
| Bremerton | #213 | C− | C− | C− | B− | A− |
East Port Orchard, Parkwood, Bethel and Navy Yard City report no FBI crime data of their own. Gorst isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Port Orchard with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Port Orchard grades C overall, better than 33% of U.S. towns and #181 of 285 in Washington. It grades B+ 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.
