Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,934, settled in 1883.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Vashon grades B overall, ranked 90th of 285 in Washington. It is healthier than 96% of U.S. towns. Its schools rank ahead of 87% of Washington towns. The catch is cost: the typical home is worth about $876K, 7.6 years of the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income. 37% of working residents work locally in Vashon, where Washington’s towns sit at 4.8% and U.S. towns at 8%. On history, just 24 of Washington’s 397 towns do better. Vashon is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 85% of U.S. towns.
Where Vashon beats most towns.
4% of the town is conserved land, across 39 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Washington), ordered by how far Vashon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 944 in 1900, 11,055 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper and 4 maps from 1949 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Vashon. Close and well known come first.
Big draw15 mi LookoutSpace Needle
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaLumen Field
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaClimate Pledge Arena
14 mi Stadium & arenaT-Mobile Park
14 mi Ancient siteSeattle Underground
Big draw36 mi National ParkOlympic National Park3.6M visitors a yearSpace 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 · T-Mobile Park: MyName (Cacophony), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Seattle Underground: Mark Hursh, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Olympic National Park: Wsiegmund, CC BY 2.5
Vashon is unincorporated, so King 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 Vashon.
Vashon is a second-home town and has cooler summers than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Washington.
27% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Vashon. Vashon beats the Washington average on 19 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 25% of adults have obesity in Vashon.
| Vashon | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 33% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.6% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Vashon | WA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.1% | 10.2% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 3.1% | 5.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.9% | 7.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $876K.
Its public schools are run by the Vashon Island School District. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Vashon Island High School, with 511 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chautauqua ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 480 | – |
| Vashon Island High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 511 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within WA on state tests and graduation
At 7.6 years of the Seattle metro’s $115K median household income, the typical home (about $876K) costs more against local pay than in 81% of Washington towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. The typical value, about $876K, is 8% below its June 2022 peak.
83% of Vashon households own their home. The typical Vashon home is worth about $876,000, down 2.2% in a year, 49% above the Washington typical home. The median rent in Vashon is $1,670 a month.
| Vashon | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 83% | 70% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,670 a month | $1,740 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
69 miles of trail in 39 parks and preserves. Island Center Forest, at 438 acres with 8.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Vashon | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4% | 4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Maury Island Natural Area | 9.3 mi | 270 |
| 2. Island Center Forest | 8.6 mi | 438 |
| 3. Wax Orchard Park | 5.3 mi | 111 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 81% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 22 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Vashon.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
39.4% of workers work from home, against 19.8% across Washington.
About one in 3 of Vashon’s working residents works in town. Vashon’s average trip to work is 34 minutes. Since 2013, Vashon has added 517 jobs, to 2,582 in 2023.
| Vashon | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 34 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $121,000 | $98,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 7.9% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
July afternoons average 76.9°, cooler than in 97% of U.S. towns; January nights average 36.2°.
Vashon has mild winters and pleasant summers. About 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Vashon | Washington towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 36°F | 35°F | 22°F |
| July high | 77°F | 77°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
14 within 15 miles of the center of Vashon
About 4 of every 100 Vashon residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Washington.
7 places in Vashon on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Vashon.
Census-designated place in Washington, United States
Vashon (, VASH-on) is a census-designated place (CDP) in King County, Washington, United States. It covers an island alternately called Vashon Island or Vashon–Maury Island, the largest island in Puget Sound south of Admiralty Inlet. Before the construction of a tombolo built in 1913, Vashon Island and Maury Island were connected only during low tide; now they are considered a tied island. The CDP's population was 11,055 at the 2020 census, up from 10,624 in 2010. The CDP covers an area of 36.9 square miles (95.6 km2). The island is connected to West Seattle and the Kitsap Peninsula to the north and Tacoma to the south via the Washington State Ferries system, as well as to Downtown Seattle …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Vashon.
Vashon reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Vashon with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Vashon grades B overall, better than 60% of U.S. towns and #90 of 285 in Washington. It grades A+ for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
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.
4 notable people were born here, including Dolores Sibonga and Benjamin F. Wilson.
