Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Poulsbo grades B overall, ranked 104th of 285 in Washington. It is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns. Residents are healthier than 89% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and its public schools beat 76% of Washington towns on state tests and graduation. The trade-off is money: homes are expensive, about $663K for a typical one and 6.4 times the Bremerton metro’s $104K median household income. Poulsbo’s density of trails is 1.8 miles per square mile, above both the Washington town median (0.8) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 82% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. The biggest place to walk is Fish Park, 41 acres with 1.6 miles of trail.
Where Poulsbo beats most towns.
9,200 counted in 2010 and 11,975 in 2020; an estimated 12,749 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 6.7% since 2020, after 30.2% 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 Poulsbo is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 95% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 11%), so the B overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 364 in 1910, 11,975 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 5 maps from 1937 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Poulsbo. Close and well known come first.
Big draw16 mi LookoutSpace Needle
Big draw16 mi Stadium & arenaClimate Pledge Arena
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaLumen Field
Big draw22 mi National ParkOlympic National Park3.6M visitors a year
18 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile Park
17 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 · Olympic National Park: Wsiegmund, CC BY 2.5 · T-Mobile Park: MyName (Cacophony), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Seattle Underground: Mark Hursh, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Poulsbo, 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 Poulsbo.
Poulsbo has cooler summers than nearly all U.S. towns and has seen reported crime fall beyond ordinary swings.
Trails run 9.8 miles in 13 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Fish Park | 1.6 mi | 41 |
| 2. Frank Raab Park | 0.7 mi | 20 |
| 3. Forest Rock Hills Park | 0.3 mi | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The North Kitsap School District runs its public schools. The largest public high school is North Kitsap High School, with 1,098 students. Two of its 6 schools are shown below, with the reason for each.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poulsbo Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 713 | – |
| North Kitsap High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,098 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
In Poulsbo, nearly one in ten adults smoke cigarettes, and 17% get no exercise outside work. Poulsbo: nearly three quarters of adults had a checkup this year, against 71% in Washington’s towns and 79% across U.S. towns. 15% of adults report frequent mental distress here. CDC measures, 31 in all: Poulsbo beats Washington on 10 and trails on 3.
| Poulsbo | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 71% | 79% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.3% | 11% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 18% | 25% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Poulsbo | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.7% | 10.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.5% | 8.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.4% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
89% of Poulsbo’s expected losses from natural hazards come from earthquakes, followed by inland flooding at 8%. Federal aid has come to Poulsbo households in 2 declared disasters; the latest was in 2007. Since 2016, one flood insurance claim has been paid here.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 74.9°, cooler than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 35.4°.
The January low for Poulsbo comes to 35°F. About 3 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Poulsbo | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 75°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 35°F | 35°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In Poulsbo, 15% of working residents work locally. Since 2013, Poulsbo has added 723 jobs, to 6,186 in 2023. Its income of the median household comes in at $116,000. The top destinations are Seattle (17%), Bainbridge Island (9%) and Bremerton (6%).
| Poulsbo | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 24% | 15% | 11% |
| Median household income | $116,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 4.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 248 to 219 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within Washington, it does better than 60% of towns. In Poulsbo, the rate of thefts and burglaries is 16.2 per 1,000 residents.
| Poulsbo | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 16.2 per 1,000 residents | 15 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Since 2020, Poulsbo has grown 6.7%, to 12,749 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. People 65 and older are 22% of residents (17% statewide). For adults 25 and older here, the share who hold a bachelor’s degree or more is 49%.
| Poulsbo | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 49% | 30% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 18% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 22% | 16% | 18% |
| Median age | 43.3 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.1 points. Across Washington, 49.6% of residents are women.
| Poulsbo | WA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.4% | 11.5% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.9% | 9.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.9% | 8.5% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16% | 15.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.7% | 14.3% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.4% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.2% | 12% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.5% | 10.1% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.1% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.2% | 7.7% | 10.4% |
| High school | 20.8% | 21.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.2% | 21% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.5% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 29.3% | 24% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 20% | 15.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The typical home value in Poulsbo is about $663,000, up 0.5% in a year, 13% above the Washington typical home. Among households here, 59% live in a home they own. In Poulsbo, the median rent is $1,886 a month.
| Poulsbo | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,886 a month | $1,737 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
5 within 15 miles of the center of Poulsbo
About 3 of every 100 Poulsbo residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
City in Washington, United States
Poulsbo ( PAWLZ-boh) is a city on Liberty Bay in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is the smallest of the four cities in Kitsap County. The population was 11,970 at the 2020 census and an estimated 10,927 in 2018. The Suquamish people have inhabited the surrounding area, called č̓uʔč̓uɬac in Lushootseed, for millennia. After the signing of the Treaty of Point Elliott in 1855, many were moved to the Port Madison Indian Reservation. Poulsbo was then founded in the 1880s by Norwegian immigrant Jørgen Eliason, who was joined by other Scandinavians who relocated from the Midwestern states. They were drawn here by the availability of land, by the area's rich resources, and by a landsca…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Poulsbo grades B overall, better than 56% of U.S. towns and #104 of 285 in Washington. It grades A for health, C+ for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Within Washington, it does better than 60% 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.
