Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA

Metro Area Profile

277,881 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA metropolitan area.

62out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 40% of 379 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 41% of 379 published metros60
GrowthTop 45% of 821 published metros53
Housing affordability724th of 822 published metros69
ClimateTop 24% of 822 published metros74
Physical resilience556th of 822 published metros43
AccessTop 25% of 822 published metros89
Economic stabilityTop 13% of 822 published metros81
The quick read

Residential permitting has slowed: 1,343 units authorized over the past twelve months, 16% below the prior year.

Buying strains local incomes far more than renting does — the median home is 5.3 times median household income, against a historic benchmark near three — while rent takes 21% of it.

A major airport is 18 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
277,881
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$104,158
Top 2% nationally
Density
703/sq mi
395.1 sq mi of land
Median age
40.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA
Nearest major airport
BFI
18 mi · Boeing Fld/King County Intl
Median home value
$555,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.1% is lower than 54% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment fell 1.3% over the past year, to 116,771 employed residents.

38% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 85% of measured US metros.

Household income is higher than at least 98% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$1,592$104,158Top 2%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$956$53,544Top 4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate8.2%Bottom 4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute29.6 minTop 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher37.9%Top 15%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment116,771Bottom 49%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-0.9%Bottom 34%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.3%Bottom 32%June 2026
Labor force121,757Bottom 49%June 2026
Labor force participation62.0%Top 37%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$77,020Top 4%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$63,200Top 2%2025 OEWS
Metro employment93,740Bottom 45%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.6%Top 20%June 2026
Unemployment rate4.1%Bottom 46%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/064.92.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.1% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Largest occupations — Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers3,180$37,080
Retail Salespersons2,770$38,470
Business Operations Specialists, All Other2,360$105,250
Home Health and Personal Care Aides2,130$46,980
Cashiers1,790$38,100
Stockers and Order Fillers1,690$44,140

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,822 takes 21% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 5.3 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
21.0%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.3×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,822
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$555,100
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income5.33Top 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate70.1%Top 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±136116,970Top 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$27$1,822Top 3%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$8,124$555,100Top 5%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income21.0%Top 20%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate7.2%Bottom 18%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
53/ 100
Top 45% of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 2% since 2020, reaching 281,420 in 2024.

At 4.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
1,343
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.8
Top 26% nationally
Year over year
−16%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
53.2%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024281k276k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 77°F and January a low of 37°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 36.5 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SEATTLE BOEING FLD, 17.9 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation36.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low37°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high77°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing26°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

43 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake and coastal flooding.

EarthquakeHigh
Coastal floodingModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, heat wave, inland flooding, volcanic activity, tsunami, winter weather, lightning, ice storm, wildfire, tornado, strong wind, hail, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 18 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Boeing Fld/King County IntlBFI18 mi10,007 ft
Seattle-Tacoma IntlSEA21 mi11,901 ft
Portland IntlPDX142 mi11,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.