Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 12,074. Public schools that outperform most of Washington.
Prairie Ridge grades B overall, 77th of 285 graded towns in Washington, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its schools rank ahead of 87% of Washington towns and the median household earns $114K. On the other side, FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 67% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Prairie Ridge’s average commute is 36 minutes, where Washington’s towns sit at 27 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Only 19 of Washington’s 397 towns score lower on history. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 74% of U.S. towns.
Where Prairie Ridge beats most towns.
Where Prairie Ridge’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 Prairie Ridge is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 8,278 in 1990, 12,288 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2008 and 5 maps from 1942 on.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Prairie Ridge. Close and well known come first.
Big draw34 mi LookoutSpace Needle
Big draw32 mi Stadium & arenaLumen Field
Big draw35 mi Stadium & arenaClimate Pledge Arena
13 mi National ParkMount Rainier National Park1.6M visitors a year
32 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile Park
15 mi Stadium & arenaTacoma DomeSpace Needle: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lumen Field: "Smart Destinations", GoSeattleCard.com, and Go Seattle Card Blog, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Climate Pledge Arena: Sea Cow, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mount Rainier National Park: Ricardo Martins from Gent, Belgium, CC BY 2.0 · T-Mobile Park: MyName (Cacophony), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tacoma Dome: Broran28, Public domain
Prairie Ridge is unincorporated, so Pierce County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 Prairie Ridge.
Prairie Ridge has cooler summers than nearly all U.S. towns, sends most of its workers to Seattle and beyond and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Washington.
The public schools here belong to the Sumner-Bonney Lake School District. Its one school is below. Enrollment at Prairie Ridge’s public school: 515 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty Ridge ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 515 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
Prairie Ridge has 139 jobs for its 5,961 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 36.4 minutes, against 26.6 across Washington.
Jobs in Prairie Ridge fell by 41 from 2013 to 2023, to 139. 3.7% of residents live below the poverty line here. Half of commuters travel less than 17 miles. The top destinations are Seattle (11%), Kent (8%) and Auburn (8%).
| Prairie Ridge | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $114,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 3.7% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.4% | 5% | 8% |
| Work from home | 13% | 15% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
July afternoons average 76.7°, cooler than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 34.7°.
About 4 inches of snow falls in a winter. Prairie Ridge’s January low comes in at 35°F.
| Prairie Ridge | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 77°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 35°F | 35°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Within Washington it is less healthy than 64% of the 285 graded towns: Washington sets a high bar. Against the 6,541 U.S. towns with household incomes like Prairie Ridge’s, it is less healthy than 66%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
On the CDC’s 31 measures, Prairie Ridge is ahead of Washington on 1 and behind on 9. In Prairie Ridge, nearly a fifth of adults binge drink.
| Prairie Ridge | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 69% | 71% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 26% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Prairie Ridge | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.8% | 5.4% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 11.6% | 9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Paid flood insurance claims in Prairie Ridge since 1996: 20. Expected losses in Prairie Ridge break down as 44% from earthquakes and 30% from inland flooding.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Only 8 of the 272 Washington towns we compare have a lower trail density than Prairie Ridge. Across 3 parks and preserves: 0.2 miles of trail.
| Prairie Ridge | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 8.6% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Prairie Ridge Community Park | — | 7 |
| 2. Future Buckley - Bonney Lake Park | — | 1 |
| 3. Timber Ridge Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The typical rent for Prairie Ridge comes to $1,965 a month. For households here, the share who are owner-occupiers is 88%. 44% of the homes sold in Prairie Ridge went for more than their asking price.
| Prairie Ridge | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 88% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,965 a month | $1,737 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of Prairie Ridge
About 2 of every 100 Prairie Ridge residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
CDP in Washington, United States
Prairie Ridge is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 12,288 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Prairie Ridge.
| Town | WA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie Ridge | #77 | B | C | — | A | B+ |
| Prairie Heights | #79 | B | C+ | — | A− | B− |
| Bonney Lake | #75 | B | C− | C+ | A | B+ |
Prairie Ridge and Prairie Heights report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Prairie Ridge with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Prairie Ridge grades B overall, better than 63% of U.S. towns and #77 of 285 in Washington. It grades B+ for health and A for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
The typical home is worth about $462,000, 21% below the Washington typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
