Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Shelton earns a D−, 278th among Washington's 285 graded towns, mostly because of safety and health. Its crime rate is higher than 88% of U.S. towns, with 49 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Residents are less healthy than 78% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. In its favor, it is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns. Shelton’s violent crime rate is 4.5 per 1,000 residents, above both the Washington town median (1.5) and the median of U.S. towns (1.6). Shelton has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Goldsborough Creek Bridge and Shelton Public Library and Town Hall. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 84% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top.
Where Shelton beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Shelton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 648 in 1890, 10,371 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1909 and 3 maps from 1939 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Shelton, 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 Shelton.
Shelton has cooler summers than nearly all U.S. towns, trades workers with Olympia and other neighbors and has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more.
Reported crimes fell from 372 to 292 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Shelton’s property crime rate is 22.5 per 1,000 residents. Shelton reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 88% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Shelton School District. Two of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Shelton High School, with 1,455 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain View ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 671 | – |
| Shelton High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,455 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
7.9 miles of trail in 9 parks and preserves. The trail density in Shelton is 1.1 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Huff and Puff Park, 161 acres with 2.6 miles of trail.
| Shelton | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.1 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.9% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Huff and Puff Park | 2.6 mi | 161 |
| 2. Shelton Creek Green Zone Park | 0.7 mi | 12 |
| 3. Callanan Park | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Since 1982, 8 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Shelton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
18% of adults report frequent physical distress in Shelton. Shelton beats the Washington average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 22. 26% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Shelton.
| Shelton | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 13% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 69% | 71% | 79% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 17% | 19% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Shelton | WA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 22.3% | 9% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 17.6% | 10.2% |
| More uninsured adults | 14.2% | 8.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Shelton home is worth about $419,000, about the same as a year ago, 29% below the Washington typical home. 62% of Shelton households own their home.
| Shelton | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 71% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,365 a month | $1,740 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
July afternoons average 77.1°, cooler than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 33.9°.
Shelton has mild winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. About 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Shelton | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 77°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 34°F | 35°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Shelton has about as many jobs (4,819) as working residents, but only 733 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Shelton for work: only 17% work in town. Since 2013, Shelton has lost 493 jobs, to 4,819 in 2023. The top destinations are Olympia (9%), Seattle (6%) and Tumwater (4%).
| Shelton | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 4.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 9.2% | 15% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Shelton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw22 mi National ParkOlympic National Park3.6M visitors a year
32 mi Stadium & arenaTacoma Dome
38 mi Theme parkWild Waves Theme Park
33 mi MuseumUSS Turner Joy
29 mi Stadium & arenaCheney Stadium
28 mi GardenPoint Defiance ParkOlympic National Park: Wsiegmund, CC BY 2.5 · Tacoma Dome: Broran28, Public domain · Wild Waves Theme Park: Jessica Spengler from Hove, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0 · USS Turner Joy: Keysgoclick, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Cheney Stadium: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Point Defiance Park: Crash Dalco, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Shelton
About 4 of every 100 Shelton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
4 places in Shelton on the National Register of Historic Places.
11 notable people were born in Shelton.
City in Washington, United States
Shelton is a city in and the county seat of Mason County, Washington, United States. Shelton is the westernmost city on Puget Sound. The population was 10,371 at the 2020 census. Shelton has a council–manager form of government and was the last city in Washington to use a mayor–commission form of government.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Shelton grades D− overall, better than 2% of U.S. towns and #278 of 285 in Washington. It grades C− for health, D for safety and C− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. That is 5 years of the area's median household income ($83,270 across the Shelton, WA area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
11 notable people were born here, including Karol Kennedy and Richard Fiske.
