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An editorial illustration of Bremerton, Washington
Kitsap County · Washington

Bremerton, WA

Bremerton’s economy still turns on the naval shipyard.

Population
46,310
5% more from 2021 to 2026
Family households
52.3%
±3 points at 90% confidence
Local jobs
16,674
1% fewer from 2018 to 2023
Median income
$74,940
±$3,707 at 90% confidence
City overview

The forces shaping Bremerton now.

01
The employers behind the economy

Bremerton’s economy still turns on the naval shipyard.

Bremerton contains 16,674 workplace jobs. Healthcare accounts for 25% of them. Education is next at 11%.

The city identifies Puget Sound Naval Shipyard as West Sound’s largest employer and reports that government supplied about half of Bremerton jobs in 2022. Olympic College adds a second major public anchor, while the hospital’s move to Silverdale removed a former center of employment from the city.

Workplace jobs: 2023
02
A campus city

Olympic College puts a campus population into Bremerton’s workday.

52% of households are estimated to be families. Olympic College adds a postsecondary population that is not visible in the public-school count.

Olympic College bring students and staff whose housing, transit, and daytime-commerce patterns differ from a conventional Bremerton office workforce. Enrollment is the missing scale measure.

Households: ACS 2024 · public-school locations: OSPI 2025–26
03
The housing divide

A majority of Bremerton renters are cost-burdened, far above the rate for owners.

58% of measured renter households are cost-burdened, compared with 24% of measured owners. 52% of occupied homes are rentals.

Bremerton’s 34-point tenure gap is not marginal. Rent changes and lower-cost availability will reach renters much sooner than established owners.

ACS 2024 five-year estimates
04
The trajectory

Bremerton’s population is rising, but its local job base is moving the other way.

Bremerton’s population rose 5% 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.

Seattle already receives 24% of observed resident job destinations. If the split continues, that outside connection—and the trip it requires—will carry more of the household economy.

Population: 2021–2026 · jobs: 2018–2023
05
A more local workday

28% of observed Bremerton resident jobs stay inside the city—the local share is unusually large.

28% of observed resident job destinations are in Bremerton; Seattle is the largest outside destination at 24%.

Bremerton’s 28% local-work share creates the possibility of shorter trips, but only if homes and jobs connect within the city. Its boundary does not guarantee a walkable or transit-friendly commute.

Workplace-flow data, 2023
People

Who lives here—and which households shape demand?

The typical household estimate is 2.3 people. 52% are estimated to be family households, while 34% are estimated to be people living alone.

Average household size
2.3

±0.1 people at 90% confidence

Median age
33.2

±1.0 years at 90% confidence

Living alone
34%

±3 points at 90% confidence

Bachelor’s degree+
28%

Among residents age 25 and older. ±3 points at 90% confidence

Population composition

Who lives here

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

White, non-Hispanic63% ±3 pts
Hispanic / Latino, any race13% ±2 pts
Two or more races, non-Hispanic11% ±1 pts
Filipino4.9% ±1 pts
Black, non-Hispanic3.1% ±0.7 pts
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic1.8% ±1 pts
American Indian / Alaska Native, non-Hispanic0.9% ±0.3 pts
Another race, non-Hispanic0.6% ±0.3 pts
Chinese, except Taiwanese0.4% ±0.2 pts
Vietnamese0.3% ±0.2 pts
Korean0.2% ±0.2 pts
Japanese0.2% ±0.1 pts
Two or more Asian groups0.2% ±0.2 pts
Asian Indian<0.1% ±0.1 pts
Pakistani<0.1% ±0.1 pts
Indonesian<0.1% ±0.1 pts
Thai<0.1% ±<0.1 pt
Cambodian<0.1% ±<0.1 pt

0% published estimate: Hmong, Mongolian, Okinawan, Taiwanese, Other East Asian, Burmese, Laotian, Malaysian, Mien, Singaporean, Other Southeast Asian, Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Nepalese, Sikh, Sri Lankan, 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
Bremerton 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?

Healthcare & Social Assistance accounts for 25% of jobs located in Bremerton. The city’s job base changed −3% between 2010 and 2023.

Jobs by sector

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

Healthcare & Social Assistance25%
Education (includes academia/research)11%
Retail11%
Hospitality10%
Manufacturing (includes, but is not limited to, aerospace)7%

Verified employer anchors

Major employers and public institutions located in Bremerton · Current or recent profile · 2024. The stated employer vintage is within the current two-year publication window.

The city identifies Puget Sound Naval Shipyard as West Sound’s largest employer and reports that government supplied about half of Bremerton jobs in 2022. Olympic College adds a second major public anchor, while the hospital’s move to Silverdale removed a former center of employment from the city.

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard / Naval Base Kitsap—BremertonHeadcount not published for city scope
Olympic CollegeHeadcount not published
Bremerton School DistrictHeadcount not published
City of BremertonHeadcount not published

City of Bremerton 2024 Comprehensive Plan ↗. Headcounts change faster than Census employment totals.

Housing

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

48% of occupied homes are estimated to be owner-occupied and 52% rented. The estimates suggest 58% of renter households and 24% of owner households spend at least 30% of income on housing.

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$439k±10772.0 at 90% confidence
Middle half of homes$340k–$567kLower to upper quartile of owner estimates
Luxury-home concentration1%≈44 homes · estimated at $2M+
Under $500k69%
$500–749k24%
$750–999k6%
$1–1.49M1%
$1.5–1.99M0%
$2M+1%

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 houses52%
Attached houses7%
2–4 unit buildings16%
5+ unit buildings24%
Other2%
Owner-occupied
48%

±3 points at 90% confidence

Renter cost-burdened
58%

Spending 30% or more of income on gross rent. ±8 points at 90% confidence

Owner cost-burdened
24%

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

Homes authorized, 2025
273

Permit authorizations—not construction starts or completed homes.

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 363 stops and 10,157 weekday stop departures inside Bremerton. The 2020–2024 ACS separately estimates how workers usually commuted; it does not count every transit trip or describe today's schedule.

Weekday departures
10,157

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

Transit stops
363

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

Top outside workplace
Seattle

24% of observed resident job destinations in 2023 LODES.

Work inside the city
28%

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

Where resident workers go

Top observed workplace destinations. 28% work inside Bremerton.

Seattle24%
Peak drive: 30–60 min
Tacoma7%
Peak drive: 50–90 min
Port Orchard5%
Peak drive: 5–20 min
Poulsbo4%

The strongest outside connection is Seattle. Employer or corridor changes there can alter everyday life in Bremerton, 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
54%

Share of workers usually driving alone. ±3 points at 90% confidence

Work from home
12%

Share of workers usually working from home. ±2 points at 90% confidence

Use public transit
6.4%

Usual commute mode—not all transit trips. ±1 points at 90% confidence

Commute 45+ minutes
15%

Share of workers with a one-way commute of at least 45 minutes. ±2 points at 90% confidence

For someone choosing a home in Bremerton, 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 Bremerton—not live-traffic or door-to-door predictions.

Starting area
Bremerton employment area

Bremerton is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Bremerton, representing 20% 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 Seattle employment core

Seattle is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Bremerton, representing 17% of matched resident jobs from this city.

25–50 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.

Tacoma employment area

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

50–90 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.

Port Orchard employment area

Port Orchard is a LODES-selected resident workplace destination for Bremerton, representing 3% of matched resident jobs from this city.

10–30 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.

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 Bremerton; 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 Bremerton

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

Hospitals0 in cityFind nearby
Explore all hospitals near BremertonOpen
Clinics and urgent care19 listedView 8 places
Airlift NorthwestMapAmanda Wolf, MdMapEduardo J Garza, MdMapErik Schweitzer, Md Mph FaafpMapHarrison Medical CenterMapHeidi B Allred, MdMapJason Tcheng, MdMapKitsap Clinic Of Natural MedicineMapExplore all clinics and urgent care in MapsOpen
Pharmacies19 listedView 8 places
Apothecary Shoppe Pharmacy2500 CHERRY AVE · SUITE NUMBER 101 · BREMERTON, WA 98310-4202MapFarrell'S Eastwood Pharmacy2518 WHEATON WAY · BREMERTON, WA 98310-3303MapFred Meyer Pharmacy5050 STATE HIGHWAY 303 NE · BREMERTON, WA 98311-3629MapGenoa Healthcare Llc5455 ALMIRA DR NE STE 329 · BREMERTON, WA 98311-8330MapMedicine Shoppe2541 PERRY AVE · BREMERTON, WA 98310-5218MapPauls Pharmacy732 LEBO BLVD · BREMERTON, WA 98310-3325MapPeninsula Community Health Services2720 CLARE AVE · BREMERTON, WA 98310-3374MapPeninsula Community Health Services616 6TH ST · BREMERTON, WA 98337-1420MapExplore all pharmacies in MapsOpen
Coffee38 listedView 8 places
6Th & JavaMapBay Street Coffee CoMapBremerton Grounds CoffeeMapCafe AlaraMapCafe CorvoMapCafe OmniMapCaffe PerfettoMapCoffee ConnectionMapExplore all coffee in MapsOpen
Fitness18 listedView 8 places
Blackbird YogaMapBody By BoucherMapBremerton Concourse West Fitness CenterMapBremerton Kitsap Ferry DockMapConcourse West Fitness & Aquatics CenterMapCrossFit Seven CitiesMapCurvesMapDr Lillian Lockett Robertson's "KingdomFit Initiative"MapExplore all fitness in MapsOpen
Groceries20 listedView 8 places
Asian Market BremertonMapAsian Market InternationalMapBremerton NBK CommissaryMapGarguile's Red Apple MarketMapGrocery OutletMapHome Storage CenterMapKitsap Community Food Co-opMapLees H CorporationMapExplore all groceries in MapsOpen
Convenience11 listedView 8 places
7-ElevenMapampmMapExtraMileMapMidtown MarketMapNavy Exchange Mini Mart GasMapQMart IIIMapR K MartMapRite AidMapExplore all convenience in MapsOpen
Restaurants140 listedView 8 places
Aceituno's Mexican FoodMapAll American RestaurantMapAmelia’s HangarMapAmelia's Hangar | Restaurant & LoungeMapAmelia’s Hanger RestaurantMapAnita's Place at Boston'sMapAnthony's at Sinclair InletMapAuthentic Taste of IndiaMapExplore all restaurants in MapsOpen
Salons and barbers44 listedView 8 places
Alexa Dawn HairMapBace Salon LLCMapBlossom Beauty Esthetics LLCMapCharleston Cut ShopMapCoco & CompanyMapConner KeriMapCraft Hair StudioMapDulce Diva Skin & Lash BoutiqueMapExplore all salons and barbers in MapsOpen

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

2 public-library branches inside Bremerton

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
41,014 sq ft

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

Physical checkouts
338,449

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

Bremerton – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. LibraryKitsap Regional Library
5,514 sq ft58,388 physical checkouts43 scheduled hours/week
Sylvan Way LibraryKitsap Regional Library
35,500 sq ft280,061 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 Bremerton.

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 elementary6
  • Armin Jahr Elementary SchoolBremerton School District
  • Crownhill Elementary SchoolBremerton School District
  • John D. Bud Hawk Elementary School (Jackson Park)Central Kitsap School District
  • Kitsap Lake Elementary SchoolBremerton School District
See all 6
  • Naval Avenue Elementary SchoolBremerton School District
  • View Ridge Elementary Arts AcademyBremerton School District
Public middle1
  • Mountain View Middle School (Bremerton)Bremerton School District
Public high3
  • Bremerton High SchoolBremerton School District
  • Renaissance Alternative High SchoolBremerton School District
  • West Sound Technical Skills CenterBremerton School District
Other public programs3
  • Bremerton Home Link ProgramBremerton School District
  • Catalyst Public SchoolsCatalyst Public Schools
  • Special Services (Bremerton)Bremerton School District
College and university campuses
Olympic CollegePublic four-year and community college

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

Bremerton supports more retail activity per resident than most regional cities.

Retail sales per resident rank among the 72% highest of the cities tracked by Metroscope. The city appears to play more than a purely neighborhood retail role, but the sales records cannot identify who made the purchases.

Retail sales per resident, 2024
$14,953

Higher than 72% of 82 tracked cities.

Change from 2023
+1%

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

See the underlying sales totals
Retail trade, 2024
$692.5M

Sales reported by businesses classified in retail trade.

All taxable sales
$1.4B

Includes taxable activity outside retail trade.

Retail share
49%

Retailing industries’ share of all taxable sales.

Tracked-city median
$10,670

Median retail sales per resident across cities with comparable data.

Civic life

Bremerton uses one of Washington’s uncommon first-class city charters.

Bremerton voters elect the mayor separately from the council. The mayor leads city administration, while the council adopts laws, policy, and the budget—so executive accountability sits directly with an elected office.

Government form
Mayor–Council

The mayor is separately elected to lead administration.

Mayor listed
Greg Wheeler

The separately elected chief executive.

Council representatives listed
7

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

Incorporated
1901

First city under Washington law.

Where decisions happen

When does the Bremerton council meet?

Regular meeting schedule listed in the current municipal directory:

Wed - 5:30pm

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

Official city site ↗Current officials directory ↗
Election record

Where to check Bremerton 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
46,310

5% more from 2021 to 2026

Local jobs
16,674

1% fewer from 2018 to 2023

Retail trade, 2023–2024
+1%

Nominal taxable-sales change; not adjusted for inflation.

Data & details — selected comparable metrics across 82 places
Local jobs
LODES
16,674
1,506656,821
Higher than 59% of places
Long-run job change
LODES
−3%
−3%+166%
Higher than only 1% of places
Weekday transit departures
GTFS snapshot
10,157
19256,385
Higher than 77% of places
Multifamily permitting
Census BPS
Near its usual pace
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
Healthcare & Social Assistance25% (4,184)
Education (includes academia/research)11% (1,917)
Retail11% (1,903)
Hospitality10% (1,672)
Manufacturing (includes, but is not limited to, aerospace)7% (1,184)
Logistics / Industrial6% (1,058)
Professional Services (partial technology proxy)6% (1,042)
Construction / Real Estate5% (835)
Administrative & Support Services5% (823)
Government (Public Administration)4% (742)
Other3% (554)
Finance3% (545)
Information (partial technology proxy)1% (215)
Where Bremerton's workforce lives (inbound)
LODES OD — commuting flows into local jobs
Bremerton
50.9%
Port Orchard
9.6%
Seattle
6.2%
Tacoma
4.7%
Poulsbo
4.6%