Summit is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B− overall, 138th among Washington's 285 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $107K. Expect to pay for it: the typical home is worth about $577K, 5 years of the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income. Orangegate Park, at 117 acres with 4.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Summit’s July high is 77°F, close to Washington’s towns (77°F) and below U.S. towns (85°F).

WeakestCHazard risk

A commuter town

99% of working residents leave Summit for work

Where Summit’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.

1,056jobs based in Summit

1%of working residents work in town

9 mimedian commute distance

Census LEHD 2023

How Summit grades

Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Summit is from typical.

How grading works

Hazard riskearthquakes tops the listCOpen →Jobs & incomeB⁺Open →Cost of livingCOpen →SchoolsBOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 7.4 of 20; 2.3% of households have no car; 2.4% of workers walk, bike or ride transitBOpen →HealthMulticare Good Samaritan Hospital 3.5 miles awayB⁻Open →

Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.

Outdoors6 miles of trails; 4% conserved landB⁺Open →HistoryCOpen →

Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.

Climate–Open →Housing market$577K typical home, down 0.2% in a year; 48 days on market–Open →Who lives hereMedian age 43.7; 21% of adults have a four-year degree–Open →

How TownRatings grades towns →

Nearby attractions

Space Needle and 128 more within 40 miles

Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Summit. Close and well known come first.

All 150 attractions →

Big draw31 mi LookoutSpace Needle

Big draw30 mi Stadium & arenaLumen Field

Big draw31 mi Stadium & arenaClimate Pledge Arena

6 mi Stadium & arenaTacoma Dome

8 mi Theme parkWild Waves Theme Park

29 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile Park

Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons

Photo credits

Space 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 · Tacoma Dome: Broran28, Public domain · Wild Waves Theme Park: Jessica Spengler from Hove, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0 · T-Mobile Park: MyName (Cacophony), CC BY-SA 3.0

Getting set up

Moving to Summit: who provides what

Summit is unincorporated, so Pierce County and regional agencies provide most services.

PowerPuget Sound Energy17.0¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA

WaterSummit Water & Supply CoNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA

Internet7 providers99% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC

Trash & county servicesPierce CountyPierce County provides services here

SchoolsFranklin Pierce School District Puyallup School District2 districts serve Summit; which school depends on your address and gradeNCES

Register to voteOnlineIn Washington you can register online until 8 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (received 8 days before).vote.gov

Who runs elections herePierce County AuditorPierce County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Sep 2024

ZIP codes98371, 98373, 98446, 9844598371 36% · 98373 31% · 98446 27% · 98445 6%Census 2020

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 Summit.

Summit has fewer 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns, sends most of its workers to Tacoma and beyond and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Washington.

OutdoorsB⁺

Summit has set aside 3.9% of its land for conservation

5.9 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Summit’s trail density is 1.2 miles per square mile.

#95for trails in WA

	Summit	Washington towns	U.S. towns
Miles of trail per square mile	1.2 miles per square mile	0.8	0.4
Conserved land	3.9%	4%	4.3%

3.9%

conserved · 127 of 3,236 acres

5.9 mi

of trails · 1.2 per sq mi

Biggest places to walk	Trails	Acres
1. Orangegate Park	4.8 mi	117

Full pageSummit’s outdoors pageOpen the page

Trail map5.9 miles of trail, mapped Pick a walk4.8 miles of trail · Orangegate Park Conserved land3.9% conserved · 127 acres protected Questions“Where can I hike in Summit?”

Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US

SchoolsB

Summit’s schools rank ahead of 59% of Washington districts

Its public schools are run by the Franklin Pierce School District. Its one school is below.

59%of WA districts it outscoresBSchool Grade

School	Level	Students	Letter
Central Avenue ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5	Grades K–5	355	–

Full pageSummit’s schools pageOpen the page

The districtsFranklin Pierce School District Vs. the neighborsAhead of 2 of its 4 graded neighbors Every school1 school · Central Avenue Elementary Questions“Are Summit’s schools good?”

NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation

Work & commuteJobs & income grade B⁺

Most working residents commute out of Summit

Summit has 1,056 jobs for its 3,702 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.

Most working residents leave Summit for work: only 1% work in town. Since 2013, Summit has lost 90 jobs, to 1,056 in 2023. 8.7% of workers work from home in Summit.

1%work in town

	Summit	Washington towns	U.S. towns
Work from home	8.7%	15%	11%
Median household income	$107,000	$98,000	$80,000
Working residents who work in town	1.1%	5%	8%
Below the poverty line	7.4%	7.9%	9.6%

Where working residents work

In Summit1%

Tacoma18%

Seattle11%

Puyallup8%

Kent4%

9 mi

median commute distance

1,056

jobs based in Summit

A commuter town

jobs vs. working residents

Walkability grade: more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns

Full pageSummit’s work & commute pageOpen the page

The jobs here1,056 jobs based here · A commuter town Where people work1% work in Summit Commute times26 minutes · The average commute How far they goHalf commute less than 9 miles

Census LEHD 2023 · ACS

Climate

In Summit, expect four seasons and pleasant summers

The Mcmillin Rsvr weather station, 6 miles away, records that about 3 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 98% of U.S. towns. July afternoons average 77.2°, cooler than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 35.5°.

Summit has mild winters and pleasant summers. The January low in Summit is 36°F. About 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.

6″snow a winter

Typical low → high °F

Winter35–48°

Spring42–60°

Summer53–75°

Fall44–61°

Nov 14

typical first frost

Mar 8

typical last frost

+0.9°

vs. the 20th-century average

Full pageSummit’s climate pageOpen the page

A year of weatherJuly highs 77°, January lows 36°Rain & snow6″ of snow a winter · 42 inches of rain and snow a year Heating & coolingMostly a heating bill Then and now+0.9° vs. the 20th century · Warmer than the 20th-century average

NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020

Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C

Summit faces a high natural-hazard risk, led by earthquakes

Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 66% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Summit since 1980.

66risk score of 100

FEMA risk score

EarthquakesInland flooding

paid flood claims since 1980

Full pageSummit’s hazards pageOpen the page

What it facesHigh risk Flood claimsSince 1980 Past disasters22 disaster declarations · Declared for the county Get readyReady for earthquakes

FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA

HealthB⁻

Summit ranks healthier than 54% of the country’s towns

Within Washington it is less healthy than 80% of the 285 graded towns: Washington sets a high bar. Against the 7,646 U.S. towns with household incomes like Summit’s, it is less healthy than 75%: its national edge comes with its incomes.

Summit beats the Washington average on 3 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 73% of Summit adults had a checkup this year.

54%healthier than U.S. townsB⁻Health Grade

	Summit	Washington towns	U.S. towns
Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES)	73%	71%	79%
Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES)	15%	13%	14%
High blood pressure (CDC PLACES)	37%	31%	35%
Depression (CDC PLACES)	27%	26%	23%

31 measures vs. Washington

3 better13 too close to call15 worse

What stands out	Summit	WA
More adults treating high blood pressure	74.8%	70.7%
More adults screened for colon cancer	69.9%	66.2%
More older adults who have lost all their teeth	11.9%	9%