All places > Kitsap County > Bainbridge Island
An editorial illustration of Bainbridge Island, Washington
Kitsap County · Washington

Bainbridge Island, WA

Island-serving institutions anchor the jobs that stay local.

Population
25,650
3% more from 2021 to 2026
Family households
75.0%
±4 points at 90% confidence
Local jobs
7,613
1% fewer from 2018 to 2023
Median income
$172,188
±$13,014 at 90% confidence
City overview

The forces shaping Bainbridge Island now.

01
The employers behind the economy

Island-serving institutions anchor the jobs that stay local.

Bainbridge Island contains 7,613 workplace jobs. Hospitality accounts for 18% of them. Professional Services is next at 15%.

Schools, parks, ferries, and a local grocer lead this small employment base. The list describes an economy built around island life and public services, while the ferry connects many residents to jobs elsewhere.

Workplace jobs: 2023
02
A split geography of work

40% work from home, while Seattle is Bainbridge Island’s largest outside job destination.

40% of workers report usually working from home. In the separate workplace-flow data, 40% of observed resident jobs are in Seattle and 5% are in Bellevue.

Remote-work policy and the trip to Seattle can therefore change demand for local cafés, office space, roads, and transit even when Bainbridge Island itself adds no new employer.

Work from home: 2024 · job destinations: 2023
03
The housing choices

Bainbridge Island offers relatively few ways to live there without taking on a house.

77% of homes are detached houses; attached homes and two-to-four-unit buildings together make up 10%.

Bainbridge Island’s narrow mix can work well for households able to buy or rent a house, but offers fewer ways for people living alone, downsizing, or seeking a lower-cost entry point to remain there.

ACS 2024 five-year estimates
04
The trajectory

Bainbridge Island lost ground on both sides of the workday.

Bainbridge Island’s population rose 3% from 2021–2026; its workplace job count fell 1% from 2018–2023. The source periods differ because the two series are released on different schedules.

One interval cannot distinguish a pause from a turn. The next population estimate, employer changes, and housing permits will show whether the two declines persist together.

Population: 2021–2026 · jobs: 2018–2023
People

Who lives here—and which households shape demand?

The typical household estimate is 2.5 people. 75% are estimated to be family households, while 20% are estimated to be people living alone.

Average household size
2.5

±0.1 people at 90% confidence

Median age
49.0

±2.7 years at 90% confidence

Living alone
20%

±3 points at 90% confidence

Bachelor’s degree+
76%

Among residents age 25 and older. ±4 points at 90% confidence

Population composition

Who lives here

Estimated share of all Bainbridge Island residents. Each percentage uses the city’s total population as its denominator.

White, non-Hispanic82% ±3 pts
Two or more races, non-Hispanic7.2% ±2 pts
Hispanic / Latino, any race4.6% ±1 pts
Another race, non-Hispanic1.7% ±1 pts
Asian Indian1.3% ±1 pts
Filipino0.7% ±0.4 pts
Japanese0.6% ±0.3 pts
Korean0.4% ±0.4 pts
Black, non-Hispanic0.4% ±0.3 pts
Chinese, except Taiwanese0.3% ±0.2 pts
American Indian / Alaska Native, non-Hispanic0.3% ±0.3 pts
Two or more Asian groups0.2% ±0.3 pts
Vietnamese0.2% ±0.3 pts
Sri Lankan0.2% ±0.2 pts
Thai<0.1% ±0.1 pts
Indonesian<0.1% ±0.1 pts
Singaporean<0.1% ±0.1 pts
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic<0.1% ±<0.1 pt

0% published estimate: Hmong, Mongolian, Okinawan, Taiwanese, Other East Asian, Burmese, Cambodian, Laotian, Malaysian, Mien, Other Southeast Asian, Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Nepalese, Pakistani, Sikh, Other South Asian, Afghan, Kazakh, Uzbek, Other Central Asian, Other Asian, specified, Other Asian, not specified. Zero is not proof that no residents identify with that group.

ACS 2020–2024 · 5-year estimates
Dataset
U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates · tables B03002 and B02015
Period
2020–2024
Geography
Bainbridge Island Census place
Definition
Race and Hispanic/Latino origin are self-reported Census concepts. Hispanic/Latino may be of any race; the broad display uses non-Hispanic race categories plus Hispanic/Latino of any race.
Method
Every percentage is shown with its 90% margin of error. Detailed Asian estimates use the Asian-alone universe and are divided by the city population for display.
Open the official source ↗
Work

What powers the local economy—and how dependent is it?

Hospitality accounts for 18% of jobs located in Bainbridge Island. The city’s job base changed +29% between 2010 and 2023.

Jobs by sector

Workplace jobs inside the city—not the industries of residents who commute elsewhere.

Hospitality18%
Professional Services (partial technology proxy)15%
Education (includes academia/research)11%
Retail11%
Healthcare & Social Assistance10%

Verified employer anchors

Jobs located on Bainbridge Island · Current or recent profile · 2024. The stated employer vintage is within the current two-year publication window.

Schools, parks, ferries, and a local grocer lead this small employment base. The list describes an economy built around island life and public services, while the ferry connects many residents to jobs elsewhere.

Bainbridge Island School District528
Bainbridge Island Metro Park & Recreation District284
Washington State Ferries260
Town & Country Market167
Sage / Redington / Far Bank160

City of Bainbridge Island economic profile ↗. Headcounts change faster than Census employment totals.

Housing

What kinds of homes exist—and where is pressure showing?

81% of occupied homes are estimated to be owner-occupied and 19% rented. The firmer current signal is construction intent: 67 homes were authorized in 2025, versus a recent pace of about 85 per year.

Home value profile

What owner-occupied homes are worth

Owner estimates from the 2020–2024 American Community Survey—not listings, recorded sales, or appraisals. The final Census band is open-ended: $2 million and above.

Median estimate$1.2M±48021.0 at 90% confidence
Middle half of homes$838k–$1.6MLower to upper quartile of owner estimates
Luxury-home concentration16%≈1,327 homes · estimated at $2M+
Under $500k6%
$500–749k12%
$750–999k21%
$1–1.49M30%
$1.5–1.99M15%
$2M+16%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-year tables B25075–B25078. Values cover owner-occupied homes only and do not measure current asking prices or recent purchase prices.

The housing mix we can estimate confidently

This describes the existing stock. It does not imply that one building type is preferable.

Detached houses77%
Attached houses6%
2–4 unit buildings5%
5+ unit buildings11%
Other1%
Owner-occupied
81%

±4 points at 90% confidence

Owner cost-burdened
22%

Spending 30% or more on selected owner costs. ±4 points at 90% confidence

Homes authorized, 2025
67

Permit authorizations—not construction starts or completed homes.

Residential buildings, 2025
38

One building can contain one home or many housing units.

Permit activity: U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey, final annual estimate for 2025. Housing units authorized are not starts or completions.

Mobility

Where do residents need to go—and who has a real alternative to driving?

Current transit schedules include 122 stops and 1,609 weekday stop departures inside Bainbridge Island. The 2020–2024 ACS separately estimates how workers usually commuted; it does not count every transit trip or describe today's schedule.

Weekday departures
1,609

Scheduled stop departures in the current covered-feed snapshot—not riders.

Transit stops
122

Matched inside city limits; nearby cross-border stops are separate.

Top outside workplace
Seattle

40% of observed resident job destinations in 2023 LODES.

Work inside the city
30%

Share of observed resident job destinations located in the same city in 2023 LODES.

Where resident workers go

Top observed workplace destinations. 30% work inside Bainbridge Island.

Seattle40%
Peak drive: 35–70 min
Bellevue5%
Peak drive: 30–60 min
Poulsbo3%
Peak drive: 30–60 min
Redmond2%

The strongest outside connection is Seattle. Employer or corridor changes there can alter everyday life in Bainbridge Island, even when nothing changes inside the city boundary.

How residents usually get to work

Citywide ACS 2020–2024 estimates describe workers’ usual commute—not every trip made today.

Drive alone
37%

Share of workers usually driving alone. ±5 points at 90% confidence

Work from home
40%

Share of workers usually working from home. ±4 points at 90% confidence

Use public transit
13.4%

Usual commute mode—not all transit trips. ±2 points at 90% confidence

Commute 45+ minutes
37%

Share of workers with a one-way commute of at least 45 minutes. ±6 points at 90% confidence

For someone choosing a home in Bainbridge Island, the practical test is the trip to Seattle, the leading outside workplace destination in the published flows. These citywide shares cannot show whether that trip works from a particular address.

Typical drive times

About how long does it take to get where people go?

Work destinations are selected from observed resident job flows. These are broad, reviewed planning ranges from representative parts of Bainbridge Island—not live-traffic or door-to-door predictions.

Starting area
Downtown Seattle employment core

Seattle is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Bainbridge Island, representing 35% of matched resident jobs from this city.

35–60 minWeekday morning peak
Details

Local arterial-dominant corridor: distance converted with a reviewed 1.40x circuity factor and an assumed 28 km/h peak-effective / 42 km/h off-peak effective speed, then widened and rounded to a broad band. The morning inbound peak is shown; the evening outbound return is assumed to fall within the same broad band.

Bainbridge Island employment area

Bainbridge Island is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Bainbridge Island, representing 27% of matched resident jobs from this city.

5–20 minWeekday morning peak
Details

Local arterial-dominant corridor: distance converted with a reviewed 1.40x circuity factor and an assumed 28 km/h peak-effective / 42 km/h off-peak effective speed, then widened and rounded to a broad band. The morning inbound peak is shown; the evening outbound return is assumed to fall within the same broad band.

Downtown Bellevue employment core

Bellevue is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Bainbridge Island, representing 5% of matched resident jobs from this city.

30–60 minWeekday morning peak
Details

Highway-dominant corridor: distance converted with a reviewed 1.25x circuity factor and an assumed 45 km/h peak-effective / 70 km/h off-peak effective speed, then widened and rounded to a broad band. The morning inbound peak is shown; the evening outbound return is assumed to fall within the same broad band.

Poulsbo employment area

Poulsbo is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Bainbridge Island, representing 2% of matched resident jobs from this city.

20–40 minWeekday morning peak
Details

Highway-dominant corridor: distance converted with a reviewed 1.25x circuity factor and an assumed 45 km/h peak-effective / 70 km/h off-peak effective speed, then widened and rounded to a broad band. The morning inbound peak is shown; the evening outbound return is assumed to fall within the same broad band.

Method, review date, and sources

Planning estimate; actual time varies by departure time, route, traffic, weather, incidents, and closures.

Estimates are derived from reviewed origin/destination coordinates using a documented distance-to-time heuristic (circuity factor and assumed effective speed by corridor type and period), then deliberately widened and rounded to a broad band. No live routing or traffic API was called.

Estimates reviewed 2026-09-10. Starting point: selected representative area.

City boundary and regional context● nearby   ● work destinations
Daily life

Community institutions and local activity

Public schools, libraries, pharmacies, and listed everyday places show part of the local inventory inside Bainbridge Island; taxable sales show the scale and direction of local commercial activity. Residents also use places across city lines, so a boundary count is not the same as access.

Local field guide

Places for everyday needs in Bainbridge Island

Care, errands, food, fitness, and personal services gathered into one browsable directory.

Hospitals0 in cityFind nearby
Clinics and urgent care12 listedView 8 places
Pharmacies4 listedView all
Coffee17 listedView 8 places
Fitness14 listedView 8 places
Groceries4 listedView all
Convenience2 listedView all
Restaurants68 listedView 8 places
Salons and barbers15 listedView 8 places

Counts reflect current directory records associated with the city, not a complete business census or a measure of access. Large categories show a sample.

Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), snapshot 2026-08-13; Overture Maps Foundation, release 2026-08-19.0; U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (NPPES NPI Registry), snapshot 2026-09-09.

Public library footprint

Bainbridge Island Library

Floor area shows the scale of the physical branches. Physical circulation is 2024 checkouts—not visits, unique users, or digital borrowing—and people routinely use libraries across city lines.

Branch floor area
15,500 sq ft

All matched branches must report floor area before a city total is shown.

Physical checkouts
334,638

Annual branch activity; not limited to city residents. All matched branches must report before a city total is shown.

Bainbridge Island LibraryKitsap Regional Library
15,500 sq ft334,638 physical checkouts54 scheduled hours/week

Source: Washington State Library public-library statistics, 2024. System-wide visits, digital circulation, and program attendance cannot be assigned honestly to one branch, so they are not folded into these city totals.

Education footprint

The schools inside Bainbridge Island.

Institution counts and enrollment will remain separate. A school can serve students from outside the city, and residents may attend a school across the boundary or elsewhere in their district.

Public elementary4
  • Capt. Johnston Blakely Elementary SchoolBainbridge Island School District
  • Halilts Elementary SchoolBainbridge Island School District
  • Ordway Elementary SchoolBainbridge Island School District
  • Sonoji Sakai Intermediate SchoolBainbridge Island School District
Public middle1
  • Woodward Middle SchoolBainbridge Island School District
Public high2
  • Bainbridge High SchoolBainbridge Island School District
  • Eagle Harbor High SchoolBainbridge Island School District
Other public programs3
  • Bainbridge Special Education ServicesBainbridge Island School District
  • Mosaic Home Education PartnershipBainbridge Island School District
  • Odyssey Multiage ProgramBainbridge Island School District

Public-school names and levels come from OSPI. Private schools, complete IPEDS college coverage, enrollment by level, and graduate destinations are active additions; absence here should not yet be read as “none.”

Retail role

Bainbridge Island sits near the regional middle for retail activity per resident.

The sales total does not point strongly toward either a major regional shopping role or an unusually small local retail base.

Retail sales per resident, 2024
$9,742

Higher than 46% of 82 tracked cities.

Change from 2023
−0.4%

Nominal retail-sales change; inflation can account for some or all of an increase.

See the underlying sales totals
Retail trade, 2024
$249.9M

Sales reported by businesses classified in retail trade.

All taxable sales
$768.4M

Includes taxable activity outside retail trade.

Retail share
33%

Retailing industries’ share of all taxable sales.

Tracked-city median
$10,670

Median retail sales per resident across cities with comparable data.

Civic life

In Bainbridge Island, the council—not the mayor—hires the person who runs City Hall.

Bainbridge Island voters elect the council, which hires a professional city manager to run administration. The mayor is selected from the council, so executive oversight works through the council rather than a separately elected chief executive.

Government form
Council–Manager

The elected council hires and oversees the city manager.

Mayor listed
Check directory

Generally selected from the council—not a separately elected executive.

Council representatives listed
6

Current directory entries; vacancies or updates can make this differ from authorized seats.

Incorporated
1947

Code city under Washington law.

Where decisions happen

When does the Bainbridge Island council meet?

Regular meeting schedule listed in the current municipal directory:

1st & 3rd Wed - 5:30pm2nd & 4th Wed - 7:00pm

Schedules change and special meetings are separate. Check the city site for the live agenda, staff reports, public-comment rules, and video.

Election record

Where to check Bainbridge Island election results.

Regular municipal offices generally return in 2027. Special measures can appear earlier, and charter provisions can differ.

The next data step is city-specific turnout, contested-seat share, ballot measures, and campaign money. Until those are normalized, Metroscope links the official record instead of guessing from partisan elections.

Structure, meetings, and current officials: Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington (MRSC), checked 2026-09-08. Election administration and certified results: the county election offices listed above. Confirm live agendas and officeholders at the source.

Change

What is changing the city’s trajectory?

Population and jobs do not always move together. Reading both helps distinguish a growing employment center from a city whose households are increasingly tied to opportunities elsewhere.

Residents
25,650

3% more from 2021 to 2026

Local jobs
7,613

1% fewer from 2018 to 2023

Retail trade, 2023–2024
−0.4%

Nominal taxable-sales change; not adjusted for inflation.

Data & details — selected comparable metrics across 82 places
Local jobs
LODES
7,613
1,506656,821
Higher than only 39% of places
Long-run job change
LODES
+29%
−3%+166%
Higher than only 35% of places
Weekday transit departures
GTFS snapshot
1,609
19256,385
Higher than only 35% of places
Multifamily permitting
Census BPS
Faster than usual
Recent annual pace compared with this city's own 2010–2025 record
2BR Fair Market Rent
HUD, county-level
$1,967
FY2027 HUD program benchmark; chart shows FY2020–FY2027 history. Shared across this HUD metro area—not a place-specific market rent.
Work — sector breakdown
Share of local jobs by sector · LODES · workplace location, not resident industry
Hospitality18% (1,404)
Professional Services (partial technology proxy)15% (1,133)
Education (includes academia/research)11% (856)
Retail11% (806)
Healthcare & Social Assistance10% (737)
Construction / Real Estate8% (608)
Other7% (566)
Manufacturing (includes, but is not limited to, aerospace)5% (401)
Logistics / Industrial3% (254)
Administrative & Support Services3% (247)
Finance3% (227)
Government (Public Administration)3% (215)
Information (partial technology proxy)2% (159)
Where Bainbridge Island's workforce lives (inbound)
LODES OD — commuting flows into local jobs
Bainbridge Island
53.9%
Seattle
16.3%
Poulsbo
8.8%
Bremerton
5.2%
Bellevue
1.4%