Port Townsend is a somewhat small coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Washington. With a population of 10,388 people and five associated neighborhoods, Port Townsend is the 96th largest community in Washington. Housing costs in Port Townsend are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in Washington.Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Port Townsend is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Port Townsend is a city of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Port Townsend who work in management occupations (14.95%), sales jobs (8.84%), and office and administrative support (8.70%). Of important note, Port Townsend is also a city of artists. Port Townsend has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Port Townsend’s character. Also of interest is that Port Townsend has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 23.69% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Port Townsend is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery. One of the benefits of Port Townsend is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 15.70 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Port Townsend. 54.72% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%. The per capita income in Port Townsend in 2022 was $43,155, which is upper middle income relative to Washington and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $172,620 for a family of four. However, Port Townsend contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. The people who call Port Townsend home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Port Townsend residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Port Townsend include English, German, Irish, Italian, and Scottish. The most common language spoken in Port Townsend is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and French.
