City · Jefferson County, Washington

Port Townsend, Washington

Port Townsend is a city in Jefferson County, Washington, part of the Port Townsend, WA metro area. It has 10,438 residents. Port Townsend, Washington has a quality-of-life score of 80 out of 100 (very high), ranking #3,097 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Washington it ranks #66 of 395 cities and towns. It ranks best on preventable hospital stays (low), hot days (low) and voter turnout (high). It ranks worst on comfortable days (low), suicide rate (high) and home price to income ratio (high).

80Very high

Quality-of-life score: #3,097 of 15,651 cities and towns
Washington: #66 of 395 in WA
Population: 10,438 (2020-2024)
Land area: 7 mi²
Density: 1,503.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 5355855

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety66#5,348/15,637
Economy38#9,671/15,631
Housing31#10,370/14,977
Health70#4,698/15,609
Healthcare53#7,367/15,650
Environment94#992/15,453
Education84#2,426/15,649
Infrastructure83#2,633/15,650
Community75#3,855/15,651
Leisure & amenities88#1,869/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Port Townsend, Washington ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Jefferson 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

Preventable hospital stays · low1,083 /100k
99/100Washington 1,865 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJefferson County value
Hot days · low0 days
99/100Washington 13 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationJefferson County value
Voter turnout · high84.3%
99/100Washington 70.8%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionJefferson County value
Median Air Quality Index · low20
98/100Washington 382025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyJefferson County value
Physical inactivity · low14.2%
97/100Washington 19.0%United States 26.5%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Restaurants and bars · high15.9 /10k
96/100Washington 9.8 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsJefferson County value

Weaknesses

Comfortable days · low20.5%
0/100Washington 25.2%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationJefferson County value
Suicide rate · high32.6 /100k
2/100Washington 17.0 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataJefferson County value
Home price to income ratio · high8.7×
2/100Washington 5.8×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Unemployment rate · high10.4%
8/100Washington 4.7%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Mammography screening · low36.0%
9/100Washington 41.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteJefferson County value
Pharmacies · low0.9 /10k
10/100Washington 1.0 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsJefferson County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
9,551 (2015-2019) → 10,438 (2020-2024)
+9.3%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Child poverty rateImproving
27.2% (2015-2019) → 9.3% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
84.6% (2015-2019) → 91.6% (2020-2024)
+7 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
6.6× (2015-2019) → 8.7× (2020-2024)
+32%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
58.3% (2015-2019) → 53.2% (2020-2024)
−5.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Unemployment rateWorsening
5.4% (2015-2019) → 10.4% (2020-2024)
+5 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Port Townsend, Washington improved on 2 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 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.

Improved2

Broadband+7 points84.6% → 91.6%
Household income+22%$51,389 → $62,606

Declined1

Price / income+2.1×6.6× → 8.7×

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Port Townsend, Washington between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.3 min2015-2019	14.6 min2020-2024	−1.8 min	Within the margin of error	68%
Bachelor's degree or higher	58.3%2015-2019	53.2%2020-2024	−5.1 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Broadband subscriptions	84.6%2015-2019	91.6%2020-2024	+7 points	Improved	44%
Effective property tax rate	0.79%2015-2019	0.69%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	36%
High school diploma or higher	96.8%2015-2019	96.6%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Home price to income ratio	6.6×2015-2019	8.7×2020-2024	+2.1×	Declined	4%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4772015-2019	0.4652020-2024	−0.012	Within the margin of error	61%
Median household income	$51,3892015-2019	$62,6062020-2024	+22%	Improved	37%
Poverty rate	15.6%2015-2019	13.5%2020-2024	−2.1 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Rent as share of income	32.1%2015-2019	33.8%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Rent-burdened households	54.4%2015-2019	56.0%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.3%2015-2019	6.8%2020-2024	+0.5 points	Within the margin of error	40%

“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 Port Townsend, Washington five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Port Townsend, 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, Port Townsend, Washington itself moved −2 points in standing on average over the same 10 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

10,438 residents (±24)

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

5,683 households (±244)

Port Townsend, Washington
Washington share

Under $25k22%1,226
$25k–50k18%1,001
$50k–75k20%1,145

Homes

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

Owners and renters

5,683 households (±244)

Port Townsend, Washington
Washington share

Own68%3,861
Rent32%1,822

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+9.8 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

3,598 workers (±272)

Port Townsend, Washington
Washington share

Drive alone54%1,950
Carpool5.7%†206
Public transit0.0%0

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 Port Townsend, 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 Jefferson County, the county holding most of Port Townsend's residents.

Jefferson County has 991 employer establishments, 294 for every 10,000 residents (1.18× the US rate of 248; 1.14× Washington's), with 7,237 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,734. The Census Bureau also counts 3,459 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 991; 3,459 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 294; US 248 · Washington 258
Paid employees: 7,237
Average annual pay: $52,734; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	92	27.3	1.76×More than typical	432	$66,597	187
Construction of buildings	71	21.1	2.79×More than typical	249	$49,357	102
Restaurants and other eating places	70	20.8	1.13×About typical	694	$30,304	5
Ambulatory health care services	51	15.1	0.73×Fewer than typical	315	$48,771	247
Lessors of real estate	50	14.8	1.20×About typical	125	$44,000	241
Full-service restaurants	43	12.8	1.66×More than typical	472	$31,254	—
Real estate agents and brokers	32	9.5	1.95×More than typical	60	$45,883	68
Building finishing contractors	28	8.3	2.18×More than typical	73	$64,726	71
Building equipment contractors	24	7.1	1.18×About typical	169	$63,592	21
Management, scientific and technical consulting	24	7.1	1.06×About typical	43	$57,302	191
Offices of other health practitioners	24	7.1	1.17×About typical	107	$35,589	175
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	22	6.5	2.07×More than typical	65	$52,785	17

Rank places for an industry Open Jefferson County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 33,715 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 $38.3K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Port Townsend, Washington: $3.67 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $38.3K; −76% vs FY2025
Per resident: $3.67; US $1,994
Sole-source: 13%; US 30%
Single offer: 8.8%; 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

Top recipients

SEABEE CONSTRUCTION, INC.$30.8K81%
CREATIVE SYSTEMS, INC.$3,3828.8%
SKOOKUM EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS$2,8907.5%
BODKIN JAMES L$1,8694.9%
CHEROKEE NATION ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS, L.L.C.$7922.1%

Spending by fiscal year

130.4KFY2017
248KFY2018
212.6KFY2019
39.5KFY2020
39.3KFY2021
70.3KFY2022
46.7KFY2023
43.9K

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$30.8K81%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$3,3828.8%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$2,8907.5%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$1,8694.9%
Waste treatment and disposal · 5622$7922.1%

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 Port Townsend, Washington, so they do not add up across cities.

Port Townsend, Washington's figures are part of those of Jefferson County, WA ($36.6M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.1% of that total.

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

See federal money in Jefferson 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.

Port Townsend, 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.

Jefferson County89100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Port Townsend, WA93

Other cities and towns in Jefferson 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/5355855

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends