Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 66,542, settled in 1995.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Shoreline grades B+ overall, 64th of 285 graded towns in Washington. It is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 98% of the country and its schools rank ahead of 90% of Washington towns. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $773K, 6.7 years of the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income. Shoreline’s trail density is 1.9 miles per square mile, above both the Washington town median (0.8) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Shoreline is home to Shoreline Community College.
Where Shoreline beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Meridian Park Elementary School | K–5 | 589 |
| Briarcrest Elementary | K–5 | 454 |
| Melvin G Syre Elementary | K–5 | 444 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Shoreline is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 6%), so the B+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 52,109 in 1990, 58,608 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2015 and 4 maps from 1953 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Shoreline. Close and well known come first.
Big draw10 mi LookoutSpace Needle
Big draw9 mi Stadium & arenaClimate Pledge Arena
Big draw11 mi Stadium & arenaLumen Field
12 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile Park
8 mi Stadium & arenaHusky Stadium
11 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 · Husky Stadium: Atomic Taco, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Seattle Underground: Mark Hursh, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Shoreline, 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 Shoreline.
Shoreline has fewer 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns, has home values still below their peak and has seen reported crime fall by about half.
24 miles of trail in 32 parks and preserves. Hamlin Park, at 79 acres with 6.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hamlin Park | 6.3 mi | 79 |
| 2. Shoreview Park | 3.1 mi | 47 |
| 3. Boeing Creek Park | 2.4 mi | 37 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $773K.
Its public schools are run by the Shoreline School District. Two of its 22 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Einstein Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,032 | – |
| Shorecrest High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,565 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
23% of Shoreline adults have obesity, below both Washington’s towns (33%) and U.S. towns (35%). 7.3% of Shoreline adults smoke cigarettes. Shoreline beats the Washington average on 21 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 0.
| Shoreline | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 33% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.3% | 11% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 13% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 18% | 25% |
| What stands out | Shoreline | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer smokers | 7.3% | 10.1% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.6% | 9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Shoreline for work: only 7% work in town. 26% of workers work from home in Shoreline. Jobs based in Shoreline grew to 15,799 in 2023, 972 more than in 2013.
| Shoreline | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 26% | 15% | 11% |
| Median household income | $113,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical value, about $773K, is 7% below its June 2022 peak. The median property tax bill is $7,083, against $4,556 across Washington, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Shoreline’s median rent is $1,985 a month. The typical Shoreline home is worth about $773,000, down 2.7% in a year, 32% above the Washington typical home.
| Shoreline | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,985 a month | $1,737 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 56% | 51% | 48% |
| Households that own their home | 66% | 71% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 76% of U.S. communities. Since 2007, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Shoreline.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 1,742 to 1,083 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within Washington, it does better than 51% of towns.
| Shoreline | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.1 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 14.8 per 1,000 residents | 15.1 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Seattle Sand Pt Wsfo weather station, 6 miles away, records that about 2 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 95% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 74.8°, cooler than in 98% of U.S. towns; January nights average 36°.
Shoreline has mild winters and cool summers. The July high in Shoreline is 75°F. About 4 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Shoreline | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 75°F | 77°F | 85°F |
| January low | 36°F | 35°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
22 within 15 miles of the center of Shoreline
About 6 of every 100 Shoreline residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Washington.
53,007 counted in 2010 and 58,608 in 2020; an estimated 66,542 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 13.8% since 2020, after 10.6% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
3 notable people were born in Shoreline.
City in Washington, United States
Shoreline is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is located between the city limits of Seattle and the Snohomish County border, approximately 9 miles (14 km) north of Downtown Seattle. As of the 2020 census, the population of Shoreline was 58,608, making it the 22nd largest city in the state. Based on per capita income, one of the more reliable measures of affluence, Shoreline ranks 91st of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Shoreline.
| Town | WA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shoreline | #64 | B+ | D | C | A | A+ |
| Lake Forest Park | #33 | A− | D | B− | A | A+ |
| Edmonds | #98 | B | D | C− | B+ | A |
| Seattle | #128 | B− | D | D− | A | A+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Shoreline grades B+ overall, better than 66% of U.S. towns and #64 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 51% 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.
3 notable people were born here, including George John and Katrina Young.
