Puget IslandWA
1,008 people live in this town, settled in 1884.
Is Puget Island a good place to live?
Puget Island’s best subject grade is a B for schools; its weakest is a D− for incomes. 25% of residents live below the poverty line in Puget Island, above both Washington’s towns (7.9%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Only 4 of Washington’s 396 towns score lower on incomes. The typical home is worth about $485K, 7.7 years of the county’s $63K median household income. Only 36 of Washington’s 397 towns score lower on the outdoors. Puget Island has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Puget Island lives by the ocean
Coastal flooding makes up 16% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
- White Island Wildlife Area
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
How Puget Island grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Puget Island is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Puget Island: who provides what
Puget Island is unincorporated, so Wahkiakum 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Puget Island.
Natural hazards: very high risk in Puget Island, mostly tsunamis
The natural-hazard score from FEMA in Puget Island is 86 of 100. FEMA puts 34% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to tsunamis, and 30% to inland flooding.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Puget Island stands out in Washington and nationally: the median household income there is lower
Jobs in Puget Island grew by 33 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 76. Its average commute stands at 38 minutes. Most people who work leave Puget Island to do it: just 4% work in town. The top destinations are Cathlamet (20%), Longview (8%) and Seattle (4%).
| Puget Island | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 38 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4% | 4.9% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In Puget Island, a typical July afternoon runs cooler than in the typical Washington or U.S. town
Expect mild winters and cool summers in Puget Island, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 70°, January nights drop to 37° and about 3 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Puget Island is less healthy than 63% of U.S. towns
Among adults in Puget Island, 18% report frequent physical distress. Of 31 CDC measures, Puget Island beats the Washington average on 5 and trails it on 14. Two figures for adults here: 12% binge drink, 16% have diabetes.
| Puget Island | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 31% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 17% | 16% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 9.8% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Puget Island | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.3% | 16.6% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.4% | 9.9% |
| More adults with heart disease | 10.8% | 5.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Conservation land takes up 0.5% of Puget Island
In Puget Island, the concentration of trails is 0.1 miles per square mile. Trails run 1.1 miles in 3 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves here: 3, covering 9 acres.
| Puget Island | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.5% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. White Island Wildlife Area | — | 5 |
| 2. Svensen Park | — | 3 |
| 3. Buffington Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Homes in Puget Island sell for about $535K
74% of households own their home in Puget Island.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Puget Island
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Puget Island; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Puget Island residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
1,008 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
About Puget Island
CDP in Washington, United States
Puget Island is a 7.5 sq mi (4,785 acre; 19.365 km2) island and Census-designated place (CDP) in the Columbia River in Wahkiakum County, Washington, United States. The island was named for Peter Puget, a lieutenant in the Vancouver Expedition of exploration, which first mapped the island in 1792. The Julia Butler Hansen Bridge (built in 1938) carries State Route 409 across the Cathlamet Channel to connect the island to the town of Cathlamet, Washington. Route 409 crosses the island to its southern shore, where it connects with the county-operated Wahkiakum County Ferry, Oscar B, providing service to Westport, Oregon. The 2020 census reported a population of 922 persons. Puget Island's Rober…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 7.5 sq mi
- Elevation
- 7 ft
- Area code
- 360
Questions about Puget Island
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Puget Island, WA expensive?
Yes. The typical home is worth about $485,000, 17% 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 D.