Census-designated place · Kitsap County, Washington

Manchester, Washington

Manchester is a census-designated place in Kitsap County, Washington, part of the Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA metro area. It has 5,956 residents. Manchester, Washington has a quality-of-life score of 83 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,599 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Washington it ranks #46 of 395 cities and towns. It ranks best on unemployment rate (low), median Air Quality Index (low) and public transit commuters (high). It ranks worst on distance to an emergency room (high), mental health care shortage (high) and pharmacies (low).

83Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,599 of 15,651 cities and towns
Washington: #46 of 395 in WA
Population: 5,956 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 2,037.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 5342450

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety65#5,394/15,637
Economy91#1,408/15,631
Housing48#7,838/14,977
Health70#4,709/15,609
Healthcare60#6,253/15,650
Environment97#449/15,453
Education74#4,134/15,649
Infrastructure83#2,717/15,650
Community54#7,253/15,651
Leisure & amenities54#7,159/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Manchester, Washington ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Kitsap County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Unemployment rate · low0.0%
98/100Washington 4.7%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Median Air Quality Index · low22
97/100Washington 382025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyKitsap County value
Public transit commuters · high9.5%
97/100Washington 3.5%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.338
95/100Washington 0.469United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Broadband subscriptions · high97.0%
91/100Washington 93.6%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Hot days · low3 days
91/100Washington 13 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationKitsap County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an emergency room · high12.7 mi
11/100Washington 7.1 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesKitsap County value
Mental health care shortage · high18.0
11/100Washington 9.7United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationKitsap County value
Pharmacies · low1.0 /10k
15/100Washington 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsKitsap County value
Depression · high27.6%
15/100Washington 25.5%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Time spent in the emergency room · high205 min
19/100Washington 156 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesKitsap County value
Students per teacher · high17.3×
19/100Washington 17.9×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsKitsap County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Median household incomeImproving
$80,045 (2015-2019) → $126,371 (2020-2024)
+58%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateWorsening
17.0% (2015-2019) → 25.1% (2020-2024)
+8.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
38.0% (2015-2019) → 43.2% (2020-2024)
+5.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
27.8% (2015-2019) → 32.4% (2020-2024)
+4.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
92.8% (2015-2019) → 97.0% (2020-2024)
+4.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Public transit commutersImproving
6.4% (2015-2019) → 9.5% (2020-2024)
+3.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Manchester, Washington improved on 1 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Household income+58%$80,045 → $126,371

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Manchester, Washington between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	33.4 min2015-2019	33.7 min2020-2024	+0.3 min	Within the margin of error	44%
Bachelor's degree or higher	27.8%2015-2019	32.4%2020-2024	+4.6 points	Within the margin of error	64%
Broadband subscriptions	92.8%2015-2019	97.0%2020-2024	+4.2 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Child poverty rate	17.0%2015-2019	25.1%2020-2024	+8.1 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Effective property tax rate	0.96%2015-2019	0.65%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Little change	76%
High school diploma or higher	95.5%2015-2019	96.9%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Home price to income ratio	3.6×2015-2019	3.8×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	71%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3792015-2019	0.3382020-2024	−0.041	Within the margin of error	80%
Median household income	$80,0452015-2019	$126,3712020-2024	+58%	Improved	90%
Poverty rate	11.7%2015-2019	11.9%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Public transit commuters	6.4%2015-2019	9.5%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	100%
Rent-burdened households	38.0%2015-2019	43.2%2020-2024	+5.2 points	Within the margin of error	37%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Manchester, Washington five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Manchester, Washington in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Manchester, Washington itself moved +4.8 points in standing on average over the same 9 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

5,956 residents (±786)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

2,258 households (±260)

Manchester, Washington
Washington share

Under $25k10%†236
$25k–50k4.7%†105
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

2,258 households (±260)

Manchester, Washington
Washington share

Own86%1,944
Rent14%†314

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+13.4 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

3,030 workers (±493)

Manchester, Washington
Washington share

Drive alone69%2,093
Carpool3.4%†104
Public transit9.5%†

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Kitsap County, the county holding most of Manchester's residents.

Kitsap County has 6,272 employer establishments, 226 for every 10,000 residents (0.91× the US rate of 248; 0.88× Washington's), with 63,168 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,842. The Census Bureau also counts 17,739 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 6,272; 17,739 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 226; US 248 · Washington 258
Paid employees: 63,168
Average annual pay: $52,842; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Kitsap County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	510	18.4	1.00×About typical	7,653	$27,725	55
Specialty trade contractors	492	17.7	1.15×About typical	2,968	$64,952	683
Ambulatory health care services	481	17.3	0.83×About typical	4,829	$68,780	1,002
Lessors of real estate	409	14.7	1.20×About typical	908	$65,331	1,932
Construction of buildings	384	13.8	1.83×More than typical	1,572	$67,694	442
Services to buildings and dwellings	255	9.2	1.36×More than typical	1,237	$37,002	801
Real estate agents and brokers	213	7.7	1.58×More than typical	211	$75,507	651
Full-service restaurants	212	7.6	1.00×About typical	3,602	$32,356	22
Offices of other health practitioners	201	7.2	1.19×About typical	989	$47,393	676
Management, scientific and technical consulting	181	6.5	0.97×About typical	601	$86,631	986
Limited-service restaurants	175	6.3	0.79×Fewer than typical	2,910	$23,537	20
Landscaping services	157	5.7	1.62×More than typical	682	$43,183	292

Rank places for an industry Open Kitsap County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 277,358 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $5.1M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Manchester, Washington: $855 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $5.1M; +273% vs FY2025
Per resident: $855; US $1,994
Sole-source: 2.4%; US 30%
Single offer: 4.6%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration$4.2M83%
Environmental Protection Agency$624.1K12%
Department of the Navy$168.8K3.3%
Department of the Army$45.8K0.9%
Defense Logistics Agency$13.7K0.3%
U.S. Coast Guard$3,1220.1%

Top recipients

BALFOUR BEATTY CONSTRUCTION, LLC$4.1M81%
SIEMENS INDUSTRY INC$162.9K3.2%
COUNTY OF KITSAP$144.7K2.8%
C MARTIN CO INC$117.5K2.3%
GOVERNMENT SCIENTIFIC SOURCE INC$62.4K1.2%

Spending by fiscal year

902.3KFY2017
404KFY2018
338.9KFY2019
585.1KFY2020
707.3KFY2021
1.2MFY2022
814.3KFY2023
1.2M

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$4.1M81%
Facilities support services · 5612$280.5K5.5%
Waste collection · 5621$148.3K2.9%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$146.4K2.9%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$66.1K1.3%
Investigation and security services · 5616$47K

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Manchester, Washington, so they do not add up across cities.

Manchester, Washington's figures are part of those of Kitsap County, WA ($1B in FY2026), never added to them: 0.5% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Manchester is mostly in Kitsap County.

See federal money in Kitsap County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Manchester, Washington is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Emily RandallD-WA-6 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 3.0%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Kitsap County88100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA91

Other cities and towns in Kitsap County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/5342450

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends