98368 — Port Townsend, Washington
Area Profile
Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 98368. Its median household income runs 11% above Port Townsend as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 13 sources98368 ranks in the top 8% of ZIP areas measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.4% and median household income of $69,688. The unemployment rate is published for Port Townsend, WA, which contains 98368, rather than for 98368 alone.
In the public schools here, 44% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 18.2 students for every teacher.
Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 115 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 72% on the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Port Townsend, WA, which contains 98368, rather than for 98368 alone.
These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.
At a glance
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment across Port Townsend, WA, which contains 98368, is 3.4%, lower than in 84% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.
Employment across Port Townsend, WA, which contains 98368, grew 2.2% over the past year, to 11,845 employed residents.
51% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 88% of measured US ZIP areas.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsJefferson County, WA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $94,486 | 82nd percentileof 2,996 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftJefferson County, WA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $78,576 | 70th percentileof 2,996 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$5,4082024 ACS 5-Year | $69,688 | Bottom 47%of 31,049 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$5,6442024 ACS 5-Year | $52,245 | Top 17%of 32,822 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 11.5% | Bottom 44%of 32,846 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 17.2 min | Top 7%of 32,887 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 51.2% | Top 12%of 33,193 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year | 59.3% | 13th percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentPort Townsend, WA’s figureJuly 2026 | 11,845 | Bottom 4%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)Port Townsend, WA’s figureJuly 2026 | +3.3% | Top 13%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)Port Townsend, WA’s figureJuly 2026 | +2.2% | Top 7%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Labor forcePort Townsend, WA’s figureJuly 2026 | 12,262 | 4th percentileof 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 69.1% | Bottom 22%of 32,883 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.0% | 1st percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)Port Townsend, WA’s figureJuly 2026 | −0.9% | Top 13%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment ratePort Townsend, WA’s figureJuly 2026 | 3.4% | Top 16%of 3,127 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 24.7% | 90th percentileof 32,798 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Median household income, successive ACS releases
The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Port Townsend, WA, the city containing this ZIP code.
44% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 66% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 18.2 students for every full-time teacher across 4 public schools, more than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salish Coast Elementary | Port Townsend School District | 528 | 17.0 | 53% | 55% |
| Port Townsend High School | Port Townsend School District | 383 | 21.3 | 42% | 87% |
| Blue Heron Middle School | Port Townsend School District | 222 | 15.9 | 47% | 68% |
| Ocean | Port Townsend School District | 144 | 20.6 | 15% | 45% |
50.4% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.
Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Washington’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Washington is up 35% over five years, and up 1.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.
Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $4,136 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.75% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,367, below the $1,609 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,367 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $54,700 a year, about 78% of the median household income here of $69,688.
The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,609 a month.
A median home at $554,300 costs 7.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $76,968, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.
The figures above are measured against 98368’s median household income of $69,688, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Washington’s figure2026 Q2 | +1.8% | 32nd percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Washington’s figure2026 Q2 | +35.1% | 24th percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Washington’s figure2026 Q2 | +118.1% | 83rd percentileof 3,071 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±12024 ACS 5-Year | 7.2 | Bottom 2%of 29,275 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 73.9% | 37th percentileof 32,750 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±3112024 ACS 5-Year | 9,822 | 83rd percentileof 33,460 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $1,165 | Top 43%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,901 | Top 46%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $1,367 | Top 42%of 3,031 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$1002024 ACS 5-Year | $1,609 | Bottom 18%of 26,396 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$31,1352024 ACS 5-Year | $554,300 | 89th percentileof 30,812 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$2082024 ACS 5-Year | $4,136 | 82nd percentileof 28,935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$11,3752024 ACS 5-Year | $76,968 | Bottom 41%of 29,802 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.75% | 37th percentileof 24,099 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 30.1% | Bottom 39%of 26,247 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±2102024 ACS 5-Year | 454 | 93rd percentileof 33,772 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 4.6% | 71st percentileof 32,961 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.4% | 40th percentileof 32,788 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±3072024 ACS 5-Year | 983 | 87th percentileof 33,772 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
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.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 115 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Port Townsend, WA, which contains 98368, rather than for 98368 alone.
At 11.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Port Townsend, WA, which contains 98368, rather than for 98368 alone.
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- King County, WA 311 people · 16% of arrivals
- Kitsap County, WA 229 people · 12% of arrivals
- Clallam County, WA 121 people · 6.3% of arrivals
- Pierce County, WA 106 people · 5.5% of arrivals
- Snohomish County, WA 104 people · 5.4% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Kitsap County, WA 246 people · 16% of departures
- Clallam County, WA 153 people · 10% of departures
- King County, WA 147 people · 9.7% of departures
- Pierce County, WA 66 people · 4.4% of departures
- Snohomish County, WA 45 people · 3.0% of departures
Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Jefferson County, WA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Port Townsend, WA, the city containing this ZIP code.
Weather & climate
5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 69°F and January a low of 38°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 19.9 inches, including 5.4 inches of snow.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| 90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year | 35 | 2024 calendar year |
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 19.9" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals | 5.4" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 38°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 69°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year | 0 | 2024 calendar year |
| Median air quality index2024 calendar year | 21 | 2024 calendar year |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 19°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Air quality
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and coastal flooding, with earthquake alone responsible for 59% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.
Low or minimal exposure: landslide, winter weather, ice storm, inland flooding, heat wave, cold wave, wildfire, drought, volcanic activity, tornado, lightning, strong wind, hail, hurricane.
Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.
These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.
Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.
Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 98368 (Jefferson County) rather than 98368 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.
What this profile does not cover
Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.
- Reported crime
- Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Port Townsend carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
- Cost of living
- Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
- Taxes
- Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
- Anything about a specific address
- Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.
Access
2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Boeing Fld/King County Intl at 43 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 93.1% | Top 30%of 32,663 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 43 mi | Bottom 18%of 3,127 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 2 | Bottom 9%of 3,127 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.0% | Top 33%of 32,663 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing Fld/King County Intl | BFI | 43 mi | 10,007 ft |
| Seattle-Tacoma Intl | SEA | 47 mi | 11,901 ft |
| Portland Intl | PDX | 170 mi | 11,000 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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Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyData & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Safety | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics Provisional county-level mortality by intent | March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Climate | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System Daily Air Quality Index by county | 2024 calendar year |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA National Weather Service National Weather Service current conditions | Live observation, read when the page opens |
Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.
98368 vs Port Townsend
How this ZIP area compares with Port Townsend as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.
Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.